Bonanza - A House United, Book 6 - The Stormy Present
by pulitzer2016
Summary: The summer of 1863 has arrived, and Adam's relationship with Molly deepens. But Molly's younger brother, Fionn, manages to cause trouble for Josie and Simon. Meanwhile, Little Joe concocts a scheme that leads to an adventure on Lake Tahoe for him and Josie, Ben gets chased by Widow Hawkins, and Hoss goes jewelry shopping.
1. Chapter 1

**The Stormy Present  
Book 6 of A HOUSE UNITED series**

 **By Sarah Hendess**

 **Ponderosa Ranch  
Nevada Territory  
June 1863**

A week after the earthquake that caused the cave-in at the Cartwrights' mine, Adam and Josie saddled up their horses and rode out to Molly and Fionn O'Connell's farm. Adam had ridden out two days after the quake to check on Molly, but Josie came along on this excursion to remove the stitches Dr. Martin had used to close the nasty gash Fionn had gotten over his right eye during the cave-in.

There had been no more aftershocks after the trembler that sent rock and dirt raining down on Fionn and Little Joe, and under the clear blue sky of early June, Adam and Josie, accompanied by a cheerful Pip, enjoyed their quiet, two-hour ride out to the O'Connells' farm.

"How long are you going to keep Joe in that cast?" Adam asked when they paused by a small stream to stretch their legs and let the animals drink. It had been only a week since Adam and Hoss had helped Josie encase Joe's broken left leg in plaster, and the youngest Cartwright brother's impatience was already grating on everyone.

Josie lifted the brim of her hat and wiped a line of sweat from her brow. "Probably through the Fourth of July."

Adam let out a low whistle. "He won't like that," he said with a grin.

"Too bad," Josie replied, returning Adam's grin. "I want that leg to heal straight. I'm not taking any chances. I'm afraid he won't be any good for the cattle drive this year. He'll be back in the saddle by August, but he won't be in shape yet for that kind of riding."

"That's all right," Adam said as he stooped down to the stream to refill his canteen. Josie was struck by the sudden urge to nudge his rump with her toe and send him toppling into the cold, clear water, but she resisted. "It's his year to stay home anyway." He stood up and looped his canteen back over his saddle horn. "Come on. Molly's expecting us, which means she'll probably have baked something tasty."

Josie's face lit up at the prospect of goodies; she had a sweet tooth to rival Hoss's. She quickly refilled her own canteen and swung back into Scout's saddle. Adam felt a small surge of triumph as he watched Josie mount up so smoothly. Josie had been such a reluctant rider when she first arrived on the Ponderosa two years ago, and now she rode as if she had been born in the saddle. Adam knew he couldn't take all the credit; Hoss and Little Joe had both spent hours with Josie, coaching and instructing her as they rode along, and Ben had given her the brilliant little Appaloosa mare who had taught Josie nearly as much about riding as any human could have. But Adam liked to think he'd contributed to Josie's success, even if only in a small way. He had, after all, been the one to put her on The General, that patient old gelding, when she first arrived on the ranch.

Though he was anxious to reach Molly, Adam thought the ride with Josie was over all too quickly, and before he knew it, they were trotting into the O'Connells' front yard. Molly and Fionn lived in a squat, one-story cottage nestled in a corner of their 160-acre plot of land on the western shore of Washoe Lake. It was a humble home that bore testament to Fionn and Molly's modest circumstances, but Fionn had sealed it tightly against the elements, and he and Molly had given it a fresh coat of whitewash, so it fairly sparkled in the bright sunlight. As they rode up, they saw Molly sweeping the front porch. Spotting them, she leaned her broom against the front of the house and waved.

Pip ran ahead of Adam and Josie to greet Molly, who welcomed him with an enthusiastic scratch behind the ears. Reaching the porch, Adam slid down from Sport before the horse had come to a full stop, leapt onto the porch, and swung Molly around in a circle before planting an exuberant kiss right on her lips.

"Geez, Adam, I'm right here!" Josie teased as she hopped down from Scout and wrapped both Scout's and Sport's reins around the hitching post.

"Well, you know, Dr. Cartwright, if you're feelin' left out…" Fionn piped up from the doorway. He grinned roguishly at Josie as he spread his arms wide in invitation.

Josie raised one eyebrow at him. "No, thanks. Come on, let's go to the kitchen and get those stitches out of your head."

"And gladly! They've been itchin' something fierce." He turned and beckoned Josie to follow him into the house. Always thrilled to see Fionn, Pip followed Josie inside.

Josie had never been inside the O'Connells' house before, and she smiled as she took in the living room on her way to the kitchen. It was a small room with only a settee and a tiny coffee table, but Josie could sense Molly's touch in the cozy atmosphere that permeated the space. The dark green settee had been recently reupholstered – most likely by Molly herself, Josie surmised – and the floor was worn, but scrubbed, and there was a small red rug in front of the fireplace. Over the fireplace was mounted a shiny black walking stick. It was made from a dark, knobby wood Josie didn't recognize, and it had a heavy-looking rounded head.

"What's the story of that walking stick?" Josie asked Fionn as she followed him past the fireplace toward the kitchen.

Fionn glanced over his shoulder and followed Josie's gaze. He broke into a wide grin, his teeth sparkling. "Oh, that's no walking stick. That's me Da's old shillelagh."

Josie wrinkled her nose, still not understanding. "Did he have a limp?"

Fionn laughed aloud, the joyful sound bouncing off the walls of the small home. His face dropped, however, when he saw Josie scowling at him. "I'm sorry, Dr. Cartwright. I didna mean to laugh at you. It's just that a shillelagh's not a cane, and it's not just a walking stick, either. Here, I'll show you." He skipped around the coffee table and carefully, almost reverently, took the shillelagh down from its brackets. He handed it to Josie, who nearly dropped it. She jumped a little in surprise.

"Goodness, it's heavy!" she exclaimed, resting the polished head of the shillelagh in her palm to test the weight.

"Aye," replied Fionn, his dark eyes twinkling. "That's a loaded stick, that is. The head is filled with lead."

"Why?"

"Does more damage when you hit someone."

"I beg your pardon?!" Josie's eyes went wide.

Fionn smiled softly as he took the shillelagh back from Josie. "It's a weapon. We use these back in Ireland to solve disputes. And me Da certainly knew how to use it." He mimed bringing the shillelagh down on someone's head.

"That's barbaric," Josie replied, her lip curling in disgust.

"It's more civilized than that pistol you've got strapped to your hip, Dr. Cartwright," Fionn retorted, the small smile never leaving his face. He bounced the stick in his hands a few times. "Weapon like this requires you to face your opponent man-to-man." He stepped close enough that Josie could smell his aftershave and make out every freckle on his nose. "You have to be brave enough to look him directly in the eye, knowing that he could strike a killin' blow to you at any moment. And you have to be strong enough – physically and mentally – to bring your club down on his head first. You can't kill him from a distance, and you can't shoot him in the back." His eyes locked on Josie's, and the pair stood and stared at one another for several long moments. Josie felt an urgent heat radiating from Fionn, and she nervously licked her lips as she gazed into his brown eyes. She noticed they had little golden flecks in them, just like Simon's. At the thought of Simon, Josie drew in a sharp breath and stepped back.

"I would never do that," she replied, though whether she was referring to shooting someone in the back or something else entirely, she was uncertain.

Fionn smirked. " _You_ wouldn't," he said as he stepped across to the fireplace and set the shillelagh back on its brackets. "But there are plenty who would."

"Yeah," Josie agreed. "Come on, let's get those stitches out."

"Aye." Fionn led Josie the rest of the way to the kitchen.

Removing the seven stitches from Fionn's brow was the work of only a minute for Josie's practiced hands, and afterward, she and Fionn sat at the small table enjoying glasses of milk and slices of Molly's freshly made apple pie. Josie propped her feet up on Pip, who was lying under the table, and relaxed in Fionn's easy-going presence. She began to think that she must have imagined the heat she had felt in the living room. She and Adam had had a long, hot ride over to the O'Connells', Josie mused silently to herself. Besides, Fionn knew Simon was already courting her.

When Fionn and Josie had finished their pie, Josie stood and stretched.

"Think I'll wander out to the porch and see if Adam and Molly want some pie, too," she said. "Hope I don't interrupt anything." She grinned wickedly at Fionn and turned to leave the kitchen.

"Wait," Fionn said softly. Josie turned around and nearly jumped back in surprise when she saw that he had already risen from his chair and was now standing only inches away. "You're wearin' a bit of pie on your face," he explained. Josie reddened in embarrassment as Fionn snatched her napkin off the table and gently wiped a blot of pie filling from her chin.

"Thanks." She turned once more to leave, but Fionn caught hold of her arm, not hard enough to hurt her, but enough that Josie could feel the insistence in his grip. It was the same urgency she felt from Simon right before he kissed her. Alarmed, Josie tried to wriggle out of Fionn's hold, but the young man wrapped one strong arm around her waist and drew her close against his body. She could feel his swelling arousal as he pressed her to him. Momentarily intrigued by the idea that more than one man found her so attractive, Josie stopped struggling and met Fionn's intense gaze. She almost instantly remembered herself and tried pulling away from Fionn once more, but that split second of mitigation was all the encouragement Fionn needed. Taking Josie's brief lack of resistance as an invitation, Fionn let go of her arm, placed his newly freed hand tenderly against the back of her head, and pressed his lips to hers.

Despite her devotion to Simon, Josie felt a tingle in her spine as the young Irishman kissed her, and for one split second, she kissed him back, but the sensation vanished as just then Adam and Molly stepped, hand-in-hand, into the room.

"Hey, Josie!" Adam called cheerfully as he led Molly around the corner into the kitchen. "I hope you and Fionn left us some-" He cut off abruptly as he spotted Fionn with Josie locked in his embrace, which Josie, whose arms were stiff and straight at her sides, was clearly not returning. "Hey!" Adam shouted. He dropped Molly's hand and lunged forward to rescue Josie from her assailant, but Josie was quicker. Embarrassed and ashamed of herself, she jerked backward out of Fionn's grasp, drew back her right fist as far as her arm would allow, and brought it forward with the strength that only a furious Cartwright could muster.

Adam froze midstride as Josie's fist connected with Fionn's face, and there was a sickening crunch as his nose broke under her knuckles. Fionn howled with pain as he crumpled to the ground, clutching his face, but no one else moved or even seemed to breathe. Adam's eyes grew huge, while Molly's jaw dropped, and Josie stood, panting with rage and cradling her right hand against her ribcage.

Pip moved first. He leapt from his place on the floor and planted himself between his mistress and Fionn, the hair on his back bristling. Though he did not growl at the young man he had previously considered a friend, the message was clear: come near Josie again, and I'll rip you to shreds.

After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Josie's eyes widened in horror at what she had just done, and she lurched toward Fionn, her left hand stretched toward him as she continued to cradle her injured right hand.

"Fionn!" Josie cried. "I am so sorry. I can't believe I just-" She broke off as Adam, refusing to let Josie get within arm's reach of Fionn again, caught hold of her from behind and wrapped his arms around her. He started pawing at Josie's right arm, trying to pry her hand away from her body so he could survey the damage.

Hunching her shoulders to block Adam from grabbing her injured hand, Josie examined it herself, inhaling sharply as she ran her left fingers along the bones of her right hand, feeling for fractures.

"It's fine, Adam, it's fine!" she insisted. "Just sore." She looked back down at Fionn, who was still on the floor, though now with Molly at his side. She had grabbed an old towel and was pressing it to her brother's face to stanch the flow of blood pouring from his broken nose. When she removed the towel to check her progress, she put a hand on each side of Fionn's nose and deftly popped it back into place. Fionn howled in pain again.

"You've done that before," Josie observed.

"Aye," Molly replied without looking up from her brother. "On him."

Josie tried to wriggle out of Adam's grip so she could reach Fionn, but she could not break free of her cousin's strong arms.

Adam took a deep breath and glared down at the young man. "Fionn." His voice was cool and level, but he still had his arms wrapped protectively around Josie, and she could feel his heart pounding. "You have exactly five seconds to explain yourself." Adam was being careful. Had this been anyone else, even one of Ross's brothers, Adam would have already laid him out. But this was Molly's brother, so Adam found himself in the precarious position of having to protect his sister without angering his girlfriend.

"All I did was kiss her!" Fionn shouted, ripping the towel away from Molly and holding it to his face himself.

"Yeah, I saw that part." Adam looked down at Josie. "Josie, did you want him to kiss you?"

"Of course not! But, Adam, you don't understand, it was-"

Adam did not let her finish. He turned his angry gaze back to Fionn and again demanded an explanation.

Ignoring Adam, Fionn leapt to his feet and addressed Josie. "What do you mean, you didn't want me to? You were starin' right in me eyes the whole time you were takin' out me stitches."

Josie sighed. "Fionn, what you need to understand is-" Josie never got to finish her sentence because Adam interrupted her yet again.

"She has to look at you to take your stitches out, Fionn."

"Keep out of this, Cartwright," Fionn snapped. His eyes, already beginning to blacken, blazed with rage. Molly laid a hand on his arm, but he shook it off.

Adam drew up to his full height and glared right back down at Fionn. "Keep your hands off of my sister," he replied in his same cool tone.

"Why should I? You've been running _your_ hands all over _mine_."

Adam refused to take the bait. He had seen Little Joe cover up embarrassment with anger more times than he could count, and he was not going to let the younger man draw him into a fight.

"You can come by the Ponderosa whenever you're ready to apologize to Josie," Adam said. Then he cast his gaze over Fionn's head. "Molly, I think I better take Josie home."

Molly snapped her eyes from Fionn to Adam. "I think _you_ had better let Josie finish a sentence before you go accusin' me brother of bein' inappropriate."

Grateful though she was to Molly for interceding on her behalf, seeing this discord between Adam and Molly sent a stab of pain through Josie's chest. Adam's jaw set into a hard line, and he took a deep breath before replying.

"I'm not accusing him of anything I didn't see with my own eyes," he said quietly. "You saw it yourself. Like I said, he's welcome to come by the Ponderosa whenever he's ready to apologize. Until then, I don't want him within a hundred feet of Josie. And I'm taking her home now."

"I don't need you to take me home," Josie snarled up at Adam. Her sudden fury surprised him, but he supposed she had a right to be angry after being assaulted. "I'm not so helpless I can't find the way." Adam had loosened his grip on her, and Josie wrenched free. Without so much as a goodbye to anyone, she snatched her medical bag from the table, hollered for Pip, and raced out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Adam glanced out the window and watched as Josie sprang onto Scout and tore out of the O'Connells' yard at a dead sprint, Pip galloping along after her. He sighed and allowed himself a brief moment to marvel at how quickly such a pleasant afternoon turned sour. He glanced at Molly one last time, but she had turned her back to him and was wiping the blood off Fionn's face, so Adam stalked out of the kitchen, grabbed his hat from the hook next to the door, and exited the house.

Fighting a rising lump in his throat, Adam swung up into Sport's saddle and set off at a slow lope. He knew Josie could not hold her breakneck pace very long; he had no doubt that he would catch her well before she reached home. Sure enough, after about forty-five minutes, Adam spotted Scout ground-tied next to the stream he and Josie had stopped at on the way over. Recognizing Adam's horse, Pip bounded up to greet him. Adam slid from the saddle and scratched the dog behind the ears before leading Sport to the stream and ground-tying him near Scout.

A few yards upstream, Josie gasped as she plunged her right hand into the cold water. She was still certain she had not broken any bones, but her hand had puffed up like a soufflé and throbbed viciously.

Adam spotted Josie crouching near the stream, ambled over, and sat down in the grass next to her.

"How's the hand?" Adam asked as he leaned over to refill his canteen in the stream.

"Fine." Josie did not look up at him; she just stared at a school of minnows that were trying to make up their minds whether or not to nibble on her fingers.

"Hey," Adam said, gently grabbing Josie's chin and turning her head to face him. When she glared at him, his eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You're angry with _me_." His astonishment leaked through his voice.

"You're perceptive." Josie plunged her good hand into her medical bag and extracted a bandage which she wound around her swollen appendage.

"Why are you angry with me?"

With an exaggerated "Ugh!" Josie rolled her eyes, jumped to her feet, and hopped back into Scout's saddle. This time she was polite enough to wait for Adam to mount up – she knew he would just catch up to her again anyway – before giving Scout a swift kick and heading for home. Unlike most silences between them, the one on the way home was uncomfortable, and Adam knew he was being punished, though he did not understand why.

By the time they reached the house, Adam had worked himself into a righteous indignation. What cause did Josie have to be angry with him? He had rescued her from the clutches of a lascivious reprobate, upsetting his girlfriend in the process, to boot. Josie should be grateful.

The cousins untacked their horses in the same stony silence in which they had ridden home. Ben heard them ride into the yard and strode out to greet them. He was taken aback to see Adam and Josie with their backs to each other and scowling as they worked. He slipped into the corral and stepped between Adam and Josie. Suddenly, the hot June afternoon seemed much colder.

"So!" he said a bit too cheerfully as he slapped Adam on the back and gave Josie a quick hug around the shoulders. "How's Fionn's head?" Adam's shoulders stiffened, and Josie buried her face in Scout's black mane to muffle her shriek of frustration. Ben stood there completely baffled, his eyes wide and shifting back and forth between the back of Adam's head and the back of Josie's.

" _Fionn's_ head is fine," Josie grumbled at last. "Adam's, on the other hand..." She kicked a puff of dust backward at Adam. "Excuse me, I'd like to wash up before supper." She whistled for Pip, and the two of them stalked out of the corral and into the house, leaving Adam alone with Ben and the horses.

"You mind telling me what in the world is going on?" Ben demanded. "And what happened to Josie's hand?"

Adam heaved a sigh and turned to face his father. Leaning against the corral rails, he explained what had happened at the O'Connells'. Ben's eyes widened again when Adam told him about Fionn kissing Josie, but he stayed quiet until Adam had finished his tale.

"I don't understand," Ben said. "Why is Josie angry with _you_?"

Adam threw his hands up in the air. "Your guess is as good as mine. But she's furious."

Josie would not speak to Adam all during supper, asking Ben and Hoss to please pass whatever it was she needed. She disappeared upstairs as soon as the meal was finished, claiming she needed to check on Little Joe.

Ben, Adam, and Hoss retired to the living room, where Ben took his usual seat by the fireplace and began packing his pipe with tobacco, Hoss reclined in the blue armchair with a brandy, and Adam flopped onto the settee with a copy of _The Three Musketeers_. He had read the story several times, but it was a good adventure, and Adam always enjoyed revisiting it. Tonight, however, he stared at the same paragraph for a full five minutes before tossing the book onto the sofa next to him, scrubbing both hands through his hair, and crossing to the other side of the living room to pour himself a large brandy. Ben watched as his eldest son plunked back down on the sofa and drank deeply from his glass, his face a mask of dejection. Ben did not need to ask Adam what was bothering him. Sharing a knowing glance with Hoss, who had pulled Ben aside just before supper to find out what the problem was between Josie and Adam, Ben laid his pipe on the coffee table and headed upstairs.

Ben thought he might find Josie in Little Joe's room, but Joe was alone and dozing in his bed, stupefied by his hearty supper and the warm evening air, so Ben continued to the end of the hall and Josie's closed door.

Josie was sprawled on her bed and paging through one of her medical texts when she heard the footsteps making their way down the hall. She listened closely, ready to send Adam away with a snarl. But the footsteps were a bit too heavy to be Adam's and not quite heavy enough to be Hoss's. Josie dropped her face into her quilt and sighed as she realized her uncle was on his way. Sure enough, only seconds later, she heard a light rap on her door.

"Come in," she called, her face still buried in her quilt.

Ben heard the muffled invitation and eased into the room. Josie didn't budge from her prone position, so Ben stepped over Pip and sat on the edge of the bed next to her, laying a hand on her back.

"Adam told me what happened this afternoon."

"I'm sure he gave you a most accurate account, too," Josie mumbled without raising her head from her quilt.

"I'm not sure why you're angry with Adam, but if your aim was to make him suffer, you're succeeding."

Josie reluctantly rolled over so she was looking up at Ben. "I'm angry because he doesn't know when to keep his big, fat nose out of other people's business."

"You better be careful what you say about Adam's nose," Ben said, keeping a straight face but unable to stop his eyes from twinkling with amusement at his own cleverness. "It looks an awful lot like yours." He tweaked the tip of Josie's nose for emphasis.

Josie stopped herself just before she very disrespectfully rolled her eyes at her uncle. "I had the situation handled, Uncle Ben. I was trying to explain why Fionn thought he could kiss me, but Adam came charging in just like he always does and wrested control away from me. Just like he did when he made Simon get his permission to court me."

"Ah," Ben replied, understanding washing over him. "I'll grant you that Adam does tend to take over, even when he doesn't need to. But he only does that with people he cares about. And there's no one he cares about more than you."

"I guess." Josie threw one forearm across her eyes to block the glare from the oil lamp burning on her night table. "But he can't be there all the time. He has to let me take care of myself now and again."

"Well," Ben said, patting Josie's knee, "that's something you and Adam will have to work out yourselves. In the meantime, try to cut him a little slack. He means well."

"Ok," Josie muttered.

"That's my girl." Ben sat there, his hand still resting on Josie's knee, when a funny thought struck him. "Did you really punch Fionn?"

Josie pulled her arm away from her face and opened one eye to peer up at Ben. "Right in the snout," she answered, holding up her bandaged hand.

Ben let loose with his loud guffaw that echoed through the house. "Now, I'm not certain, but I expect that's probably a violation of the Hippocratic Oath," he said, wiping tears from his eyes.

Josie grinned fully now. "It's not a commonly accepted medical practice," she conceded. "Molly had to pop his nose back into place." A horrible thought struck her. "Oh, no, Molly," she gasped, her good hand flying to her mouth. "She's pretty angry at Adam, too. She didn't like that he laid into Fionn without letting me explain."

Ben sighed. This was not the first time Adam had irritated a woman by insisting he take control of a situation the lady already had well in hand. "That is not your fault," Ben assured Josie. "That is Adam's problem, and his alone. I'm sure he'll set things right with Molly." Ben certainly hoped so, at least. Hoss seemed to be taking his time with Patience Lovejoy, and Ben hoped to see at least one of his sons married in his lifetime.

"Yeah," Josie agreed.

Ben patted Josie's knee one last time. "All right. I'm going back downstairs. Would you like to join us?"

"No. I think I'll go sit with Joe for a while. We've been reading _David Copperfield_ together, and we just got to the part where David runs away to his aunt's." Ben nodded, stood up, and headed for the door. "Actually, Uncle Ben," Josie said, just before he departed. "Would you please send Adam up?"

Ben smiled. "Absolutely."

Adam trudged up the stairs like a condemned man climbing the gallows. He had been reviewing his behavior in the O'Connells' kitchen, and he was fairly certain he had figured out the source of Josie's wrath. When he finally reached the end of the hall, he knocked gently on Josie's door. She invited him in, and Adam opened the door just far enough to stick his head into her bedroom.

"I'm alone and unarmed," he announced.

"Don't worry," Josie replied, holding up her bandaged hand. "I won't be attacking anyone else for a while." She gave him a small smile, encouraging him to step fully into the room. Josie was still lying on her bed, so Adam grabbed the armchair from between her bookshelves and pulled it alongside. Typically he would have stretched out on the bed next to her, but the situation seemed to call for a little distance between them.

"All right," he said, spreading his hands in surrender. "Let's have it."

Josie raised an eyebrow and sat up against her headboard. She held Adam's gaze for a few moments before taking a deep breath and beginning to speak.

"You should have let me handle Fionn this afternoon." Adam pointed at Josie's injured hand and opened his mouth to protest, but Josie reached over and clapped her good hand over his mouth. "Just once today, please let me finish." Adam's eyes softened, and his shoulders sagged. Josie slowly pulled her hand away from his mouth, and Adam pursed his lips to show he would keep quiet. "This is not the first time a patient has made a pass at me," Josie explained. Adam's eyes grew huge, and Josie could tell he desperately wanted to start spitting questions, but he remained silent – an act that took every ounce of his not inconsiderable self-control. "This kind of thing happens," Josie continued. "Doctoring someone, well, it gets a bit intimate sometimes. You have to get right in a patient's face and put your hands on them, and sometimes they get the wrong idea. I think Fionn's been attracted to me for a while, and my being that close to him made him think I felt the same way. I never should have hit him, but you should have given me the opportunity to explain things to him." She paused for a few seconds, ensuring she had said everything she needed to say. "Ok, I'm finished," she concluded, smiling at Adam.

Ashamed, Adam dropped his gaze and rubbed his hands through his hair. Josie could tell he had already done this a few times this evening because the oils from his hands were making his hair stick up. She resisted the urge to reach over and pat it back down. Adam deserved to look a little silly right now.

"Josie, I'm sorry," he muttered. "I can't always help it. I look at you sometimes, and all I see is the six-year-old who grabbed hold of my hand when we first met. When I saw Fionn with his hands on you – and you clearly not enjoying it – it was all I could do not to strangle him. But you're right. At the very least, I should have let you finish a sentence." He paused, a horrified look washing over his face. "Oh no, that's exactly what Molly said," he groaned. He dropped his head backward and grimaced at the ceiling.

Josie bit back an amused smile and patted his knee. "Well, I can't speak for Molly, but I accept your apology. And I promise, if I'm ever in trouble I can't get out of alone, I'll call for you, all right?"

"Well, as long as you promise," Adam replied, giving Josie a small smile. He stretched his arms toward her, and Josie leaned forward and fell into them. The cousins hugged for several long moments. When at last Adam pulled back, he caught Josie's face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "I feel like things have gotten complicated lately," he admitted. "So I've had an idea."

Josie raised an eyebrow and waited for him to continue.

"You haven't left Virginia City since you got here two years ago," Adam said, though he then remembered Josie's two-week sojourn through the desert last summer with Ben, Hoss, and Joe as they searched for him while he was trapped by Peter Kane. "Well, not for anything fun anyway," he added. "So how would you like to go to Sacramento for your birthday? Just you and me."

Josie's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really?!"

"Really," Adam grinned.

"Would we take the stage?"

"We could. Though I thought it would be more fun to ride out there. We could make better time than the stagecoach and camp along the way. We could spend four or five days in the city, stop in and visit Elizabeth Pearson, do some shopping, then on our way back, I thought we could do a little hunting. Maybe track down that mountain lion you've always wanted to see."

Josie's shining eyes spoke volumes as she squealed with delight and threw her arms around Adam's neck. "I'd love that!"

Adam hugged her back. "It's settled then. Pa owes me a couple weeks' vacation, so we'll have lots of time. Sacramento may never be the same."

Josie giggled. "If it is, we haven't done our job properly."

Adam grinned and rose to his feet. "All right, I'm going downstairs to start thinking about how to apologize to Molly. Coming with me?"

"Nah," Josie said, shaking her head. "I promised Joe another chapter of _David Copperfield_ tonight."

"All right," Adam said, and he turned to leave.

"Adam?"

He turned back around.

"Don't worry about Molly. I'm sure she'll forgive you. She finds you captivating."

"She said that?!" Adam was entirely unsuccessful at concealing the dopey grin that spread across his face.

"You didn't hear it from me," Josie answered with a sly wink.

"Hear what?" Adam grinned at Josie, and then he turned and slipped through the door, closing it gently behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The next morning, Adam set out for town right after breakfast. He knew Molly would be working in her shop that day, and he did not want to waste any time in setting things right with her. Hop Sing had asked him to pick up some groceries, including some blocks of chocolate so he could bake a cake for Hoss's birthday later that week, so Adam hitched up the buckboard and began the long drive to town.

When he was halfway to town, he saw a single rider approaching from the opposite direction. Two years ago, this would have piqued Adam's interest, but now he simply assumed it was a patient riding in to see Josie. As the rider drew closer, however, Adam thought he recognized the dapple gray horse. Sure enough, as the horse closed the distance, Adam made out the brown hair and freckled face of Fionn O'Connell. Adam pulled his horses to a stop in the center of the road so Fionn would not be able to sweep past him. Seeing the roadblock, Fionn reined up his horse next to the wagon. The two men stared at each other for a time, sizing each other up. Adam smirked as he saw that both of Fionn's eyes were black and puffy from Josie's strike, and his nose was about twice its usual size. Finally, understanding that Adam was not going to speak first, Fionn broke the silence.

"Headin' to town?" he asked casually as his gelding shifted its feet impatiently.

"Yup."

"Molly's at her shop."

"I know. You heading to my house?"

"Yeah," Fionn answered.

"Josie's in her clinic."

"I figured."

Adam and Fionn stared at each other a while longer, and Adam bit back another smile as he watched Fionn begin to squirm ever so slightly. He let the young man stew in his discomfort for a few seconds before speaking up.

"Fionn, look, I'm sorry I butted in yesterday. Josie made it very plain to me that I should have let her handle the situation. I'm sure it was awkward enough, and I just made it worse. But she's like my little sister, and my composure is easily shaken where Josie is concerned."

"I understand that," Fionn replied. "Molly's three years older than me, but I feel the same way. Anyway, Cartwright, I'm sorry about yesterday, too. I know Josie's with Croft, and I should have asked her before I kissed her. She's just really pretty, and she was right there in me face, and, well, anyway, I'm sorry. And I'm sorry about what I said about you and Molly. I'm glad you're courtin' her. It's high time she found someone who treats her right."

Adam raised an eyebrow at this last comment; the look on the young man's face said that there was more to Fionn's statement that he was not saying. But not wanting to overstep his bounds twice in as many days, Adam simply said, "Thank you," and Fionn understood he was thanking him both for the apology and the compliment.

"I'm headin' over to apologize to Josie," Fionn continued. "I promise I'll keep my distance from her. I hope you know I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her. Men who harm women are the worst kind of devils in this world, if you ask me."

Adam's eyes narrowed, and he stared at Fionn, trying to divine what it was the younger man wasn't telling him.

"Women who harm men, on the other hand," Fionn added brightly as he pointed to his swollen face, "are just damn impressive." He grinned at Adam. "Good luck with Molly, though I doubt you'll need it." He clucked to his horse, who sidestepped the wagon and bore him down the road toward Josie's clinic.

Adam craned his neck and watched him ride off before slapping his horses with the reins and continuing on into town.

It was only ten o'clock when Adam rolled into Virginia City, so he decided to see Molly first, hopefully take her to lunch, and then complete his shopping. He left the wagon and horses at the livery stable for the time being and headed toward Molly's shop on foot. As he walked, he marveled at how quickly the town had cleaned up from the earthquake. Most of the broken windows and dislodged signs had been replaced, and a crew of men was sweeping up the rubble that used to be the schoolhouse. Adam knew there would have to be a town meeting soon to discuss building a new one, and he resolved not to let his architectural ideas get shouted down this time.

Molly had already replaced her shop's broken front window, and her "Open" sign was hanging in it when Adam arrived at her door. He let himself in and spotted Molly bent over her sewing machine next to a side window. In the middle of stitching a seam, she did not look up when she heard the bell above the door herald Adam's arrival.

"Be right with you!" she called cheerfully. Adam stood quietly until Molly finished her seam and glanced up to see who had entered her shop. "Oh," she said when she spotted Adam's broad frame filling her doorway. "Hello, Adam." Her tone was cool.

Adam took a few steps toward her, his right hand outstretched. "Molly," he said softly. Her eyes locked onto his gaze, and he watched as her bright green eyes filled with tears, though she stayed firmly in her seat at her sewing machine. "Molly, I'm so sorry." His voice wavered, and he stretched his hand a little further toward her. The few additional seconds Molly spent staring at him were an eternity, and his stomach fluttered. Finally, Molly's chin quivered, and she let out a little squeak as she leapt from her chair and flew into Adam's arms. Adam wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her soft, auburn hair. "I should have let Josie explain," he muttered into her tresses. "I was unfair to Fionn, and I'm sorry."

Molly sniffled into Adam's shirtfront and raised her head to look up at him. "I'm sorry he caused trouble in the first place."

"You don't have to apologize for him. Besides, I passed him on my way into town, and we sorted things out. He was on his way to apologize to Josie."

"He's a good boy." Molly gave Adam a watery smile.

"He cares about you very deeply."

"Aye, he's always taken good care of me." Molly took a step back and ran her hands from Adam's shoulders down his chest before slipping her arms around his waist and leaning into him once more.

Adam shivered at her touch, but Fionn's implications from earlier were gnawing at him. He cupped Molly's chin in his hand and tilted her face up to look at him again. "Molly? Fionn said something a little odd when I saw him."

Molly raised her eyebrows in an expression of innocence, but something flashed behind her eyes as if she knew what Adam was about to say next.

"He implied that things have been harder for you than you've let on, and he seemed almost desperate to assure me that he would never hurt Josie. He said men who hurt women are the worst kind of devils. Did you have some sort of trouble in San Francisco? Do you need any help?"

Molly dropped her gaze and studied the buttons on Adam's shirt while she muttered something in Irish that Adam was fairly certain was impolite. She sighed heavily and returned to English. "That boy! Always makin' mountains out of molehills, he is."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Molly sighed again. "It's the main reason we left San Francisco." Adam said nothing; he just reached forward and laid one palm gently on her cheek. "We came out here so Fionn could farm, yes," she continued, "but also to get away from… a problem."

Adam bristled and dropped his hand. "Is someone after you?" He began mentally calculating how long it would take him to get home, saddle up Sport, and ride to San Francisco.

"No. But after everything that happened, Fionn and I both needed a fresh start."

"What happened?" Adam led her over to her seat by the sewing machine. He pulled up another chair next to her and waited quietly.

Molly rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed by the memory. "I was seein' a man named John. We'd been courtin' about a year when he proposed."

Adam's brain exploded with a dozen questions, but after his experience yesterday, he decided he had better keep shut and let Molly finish her tale.

"But I turned him down," Molly continued.

"Why?" The question was out of Adam's mouth before he could bite his lip to keep it closed.

"He was a drunk, he was!" answered Molly with a little laugh. "He was even drunk when he proposed. Fell over twice trying to get down on one knee!"

Adam chuckled and shook his head. "I think you made a good decision turning him down."

"Aye," Molly agreed, smiling back at him. But then her face fell, and Adam's stomach clenched as Molly grew somber. "But he was a mean drunk. And he didn't like bein' rejected." She broke away from Adam's gaze and grabbed a swatch of fabric off her sewing table and began worrying it between her fingers.

Understanding descended on Adam like a heavy, black cloud.

"Did he hurt you?" Adam asked quietly. Molly bit her lower lip and nodded without looking up at him. "Oh, Molly, I'm so sorry," he whispered as he took hold of her right hand and caressed it between both of his palms.

Molly took a deep breath and forced herself to look up at Adam again. "It's all right. Fionn came to me rescue." The thought of her little brother saving her elicited a fond smile from her lips. "John and I were in the parlor of me house – this was just after Da died – and Fionn was outside on the porch, so he heard me hollerin' when John started beatin' on me. John drew his gun on Fionn, but Fionn grabbed Da's shillelagh and brought it down on John's head." She paused, a faraway look in her eyes. "I've never seen anyone crumple to the ground like John did when Fionn struck him. We found out later Fionn had cracked his skull – it's a miracle John survived. But survive he did, and he pressed charges. The sheriff arrested Fionn for attempted murder."

Adam shook his head in disbelief. Fionn was a brash, impulsive young man – not unlike Little Joe – but Adam was stunned that anyone could believe Fionn capable of murder. It simply wasn't in him.

"It went to trial and everythin'," Molly pressed on, dabbing at the corner of her left eye. "I was certain Fionn would be found guilty, even though he was just defendin' me, but fortunately Da had left us a little money, and we were able to hire a good lawyer. Fionn got off, but he couldn't find work after that, and ladies quit comin' to me for dresses. John wasn't an important man in San Francisco, but there were a number of people who were upset that a dirty Mick got off attackin' an American. So eventually we had to leave, and we came here."

Adam had no idea what to say. He knew Irish immigrants were often mistreated in the big cities back east, but he hadn't realized the ill will had spread to San Francisco. He would have guessed the people of California were too busy abusing the Chinese to worry about anyone else.

"Molly, I'm so sorry," he repeated. Molly gave him a watery smile as a tear slid down her cheek. Adam leaned over and kissed it away. It was warm and salty, and he had to fight the urge to keep kissing her, to taste the rest of her face and her throat. But pawing at Molly right now would not elicit a positive response, so Adam wrapped his arms around her and drew her to his chest.

Molly leaned into him and rested her cheek on his shirtfront. She did not break down, and Adam guessed correctly that she had already shed all the tears she was going to dignify John with. "It's all right," she sighed at length. "All in the past."

Adam continued to hold fast to Molly, but a new thought began troubling him. "Molly? Why didn't you press countercharges against John for attacking you? If you already had a lawyer representing Fionn, it couldn't have cost much more to go after him."

Molly glanced up at Adam with eyes suddenly blazing with anger. "I wanted to," she seethed between gritted teeth. "But the sheriff wouldn't hear of it. He kept sayin' I must have done somethin' to provoke John, so I got what I deserved. Never mind that the same could have been said of John provokin' Fionn."

Fire sparked behind Adam's eyes now, too. "I've had about enough of that sheriff in San Francisco!" he snarled. "Pa and my brothers ran into some trouble there a couple years ago, and his deputies wouldn't lift a finger to help them."

"Aye, he's not a very good listener," Molly agreed. "He wouldn't even hear me out when I tried to argue for my right to press charges against John. I guess that's partly why I got so upset with you yesterday when you wouldn't let Josie explain. Bad things happen when men don't listen to what women are tryin' to tell them."

Once again ashamed of his conduct the previous day, Adam dropped his head, buried his face in Molly's hair, and apologized for what felt like the hundredth time. She reached up and caressed his cheek. "It's all right, Just Adam," she whispered. "You were just tryin' to protect your sister, and I can't fault you for that." She ran her hand around to the back of Adam's head, entwined her fingers in his dark hair, and pulled his face down to hers. As their lips met, Adam felt a familiar tingle below his navel, and he pulled Molly out of her chair and onto his lap. She giggled as she situated herself on his knee and kissed him again.

Adam had just slipped his tongue between Molly's lips when they were interrupted by gales of laughter from outside the shop. Their heads snapped up, and there on the other side of the front window were six-year-old Michael Bryson and one of his friends. Both little boys were pointing and laughing at Adam and Molly, and Michael pressed his face against the window and blew hard against the glass, making a rude sound. Adam shifted Molly from his lap back onto her chair and stormed over to the door to chase the rapscallions off. The boys shrieked when they saw the tall, scowling man striding toward them, and they took off sprinting down the street. Adam had half a mind to chase after them and knock their little heads together, but he stopped dead, his hand on the door latch, when he heard Molly's laugh ring out. He spun around to see Molly nearly falling out of her chair with laughter.

"What's so funny?" he demanded indignantly. First two little boys laughed at him, and now Molly.

Molly kept laughing, and it was a minute or two before she could compose herself enough to reply. "If only you could have seen the look on your face when you spotted those lads!" she hooted, clutching her stomach, which was beginning to ache from laughing so hard.

Adam's angry expression dropped into a devilish grin. "Oh, you think my face is funny, do you?"

"Oh, aye!" Molly fished her handkerchief out of her skirt pocket and wiped her eyes. Her efforts were in vain, however, because she was still laughing so hard that her eyes continued to stream.

Still grinning, Adam crossed back to her in three long strides and jabbed his fingers right under her ribcage, where he had discovered she was fiercely ticklish. Molly screamed with laughter and slapped at his hands. Adam didn't relent until Molly was laughing so hard she could not catch her breath and her face turned bright red. Then he swept his arms around her waist, pressed against her, and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Well, Miss O'Connell," he said, still holding her to him, "since we don't seem to have any privacy here anyway, would you care to come shopping with me?"

Molly smiled up at him. "I would be delighted, Mr. Cartwright."

Adam and Molly spent the remainder of their morning at Cass's General Store and Emporium, where Adam bought all the groceries that Hop Sing had requested and Molly chatted with Sally about the Fourth of July festival the following month. This would be the O'Connells' first Independence Day in Virginia City, and Sally thrilled Molly with her descriptions of the food, games, dancing, and fireworks the town always boasted.

"Dear me," Molly sighed, looking down at her neat and clean, though faded, skirt and shirtwaist. She had been so busy with orders for other ladies since the Cartwrights' party a few weeks ago that she hadn't had time to sew anything new for herself, and the dresses she had brought from San Francisco that spring were beginning to show their age. "I really need to make meself a new dress. Wouldn't be fittin' to show up at the festival all raggedy, would it?"

Though she had plenty of fabric in her shop, Molly could not resist perusing the selection in the general store. She was drawn to fabric like Josie and Adam were to books – no matter how many bolts of colorful prints she had on hand, she could not overcome the urge to see what new patterns and hues were available. Her wandering eyes lit on a light-blue and lavender gingham, and she squealed with delight as she ran the material between her hands, expertly assessing the weight and quality.

"That one's real pretty," Sally said, striding over to her and nodding approvingly. "Just got it in yesterday."

Molly's face fell as she glanced at the price tag. After all the orders she had taken the past few weeks, she could afford the gingham calico, but years of lean living had trained her not to splurge on herself. She stood there trying to decide if there was enough fabric on the bolt to make two dresses; if she could sell one dress in that fabric, then she could justify using the remnant for herself, but with as wide as skirts were growing these days, she doubted she could get two adult-sized gowns out of the bolt.

From the other side of the store where he was filling a paper cone with gumdrops to cheer up Little Joe, Adam watched as Molly sighed sadly and set the bolt of fabric back down on the display table. He cleared his throat to get Will Cass's attention, and when the shopkeeper looked over at him, Adam jerked his head toward Molly and then pointed to himself and mimed writing something across the palm of his hand. Will glanced over at Molly and then turned and grinned at Adam to indicate he understood. Adam nodded to him and strode over to Molly. He handed Sally the gumdrops to place in one of the boxes with the rest of his groceries and then took hold of Molly's hand.

"I don't know about you, my dear," he said, "but I'm starving. Let's get some lunch." Shooting a parting grin over his shoulder at Will Cass, Adam led Molly from the shop and down the street to Annie's Café.

After a delightful lunch together, Adam and Molly strolled to the livery stable to pick up the Cartwrights' buckboard, and then they drove over to the general store to collect the Ponderosa groceries. As Molly was helping to organize the boxes in the back of the buckboard for Adam's drive home, she spotted the bolt of gingham sticking out of one of the boxes.

"Adam," she said, thrusting the roll in his face as he leaned lazily against one of the wagon wheels. "What is this?"

Adam tugged at his hat brim. "Looks like a bolt of fabric to me," he answered casually. "Honestly, Molly, I should think that would be something you'd recognize."

Molly bonked him lightly over the head with the material. "I know it's a bolt of fabric, you twit!" she returned playfully. "What is it doin' in your wagon?"

"I thought I could decorate Little Joe's cast with it. Maybe if he looks pretty, he'll be less grouchy."

Molly thwacked him with the fabric again, a little harder this time, and Adam's face split into a grin. He grasped Molly's waist with both hands and lifted her from the wagon, setting her down in front of him. His hands lingered on her waist, though Molly's hands were busy clutching the bolt of fabric covetously to her bosom.

"It's for you, of course," Adam said, kissing the tip of her nose.

Molly frowned at him, but she did not relinquish her tight hold on the calico she had wanted so badly. "You don't have to buy your way back into my good graces."

"That was never my intention," Adam replied with a smile. "In fact, my motives were entirely selfish. It's very pretty, and I want to see you in it. Simple as that."

"Well, all right. As long as you were just bein' selfish." Molly beamed at him and stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Thank you very much."

"My pleasure."

Adam lifted Molly into the front seat of the buckboard and drove her back to her shop. He wanted to stay and while away the afternoon, but Delphine Marquette was due in for a dress fitting, so Adam bid farewell to Molly at the shop's door and headed home.

The afternoon sun was hot, but Adam enjoyed his drive home. Fionn would have delivered his apology to Josie by now, and Adam had made things right with Molly, who was going to have a lovely new frock for the Fourth of July festival. Adam couldn't wait to see the new dress on Molly, and he grinned wickedly to himself as he thought how he wouldn't mind seeing that new dress on his bedroom floor, either. Yes, it had been a good day.

Adam had planned to drive straight to the house to get the chocolate he was carrying down to the cellar before it melted, but as he passed by Josie's clinic, he spotted her and Hoss sitting on the front steps. Hoss had his arm around her shoulders, and Josie was resting her head against his massive chest. This was not in itself unusual; Josie loved leaning on Hoss. His broad shoulders made good pillows, and just one of his thick arms wrapped around her could keep her warm in a blizzard. Adam couldn't make out their facial expressions from the road, but Josie's posture told him something was amiss. If Josie and Hoss were having a companionable conversation, Josie should have had her legs stretched out along the porch and her face turned up toward the warm sunshine. Instead, she was curled into a ball against Hoss's left hip, and her face was buried in his shirt. Pip was lying next to Josie with his head in her lap. Adam yanked the horses to a stop and sprang from the wagon.

"What's wrong?!" he hollered as he raced over to the clinic's porch.

Josie looked up at him, but she did not budge from her spot next to Hoss. She took a long, shuddering breath, and Adam could now see the tearstains that streaked her cheeks. He threw himself onto the steps on her other side and laid a hand on her shoulder. His first thought was that she had gotten bad news about Jacob, but, Adam realized, if that were the case, then Ben should be here, too.

"Josie, what's wrong?" he repeated.

Josie did not answer; she just buried her face in Hoss's shirt again. Adam looked helplessly up at his brother.

"She and Simon split up," Hoss answered, running one vast hand up and down Josie's skinny arm.

Adam sat dumbfounded for several seconds before he found his voice. "No," he said at last. "No, you're mixed up. Not Simon. Fionn. Fionn was here."

"Yes, he was," Hoss confirmed. "Unfortunately, Simon stopped by, too, just as Fionn was apologizing for kissin' Josie."

"Oh, no."

"Yeah. He didn't seem to care that Fionn was apologizin', neither. Just came busting into the clinic and tackled Fionn to the ground. Fortunately, me and Pa were ridin' by on our way out to check on some stock and heard the ruckus – Pip was barking something fierce – and we broke it up before the fight got too interestin'. Simon's nose got bloodied, but Fionn was already so tore up from Josie hittin' him yesterday that I don't think he'll notice any difference."

"He wouldn't even listen to me!" Josie wailed into Hoss's shirt. "I tried telling him that Fionn was apologizing – which is just what Simon should have wanted! But he wouldn't listen. He just went insane." Her voice broke off in fresh sobs, and Adam gathered Josie up into his own arms to give Hoss's shirt a chance to dry out.

"Oh, Josie, I'm sorry," Adam said, stroking her hair. "You've had a string of men not listening to you lately, haven't you?"

"Gets worse," Hoss said, shaking his head. As Adam's eyebrows shot up, Hoss continued, "Pa pulled him off Fionn and made him shut up long enough to let Josie speak, and when she tried explainin' how sometimes patients misunderstand her intentions, Simon said he didn't want her treatin' men no more. Josie told him he had no right to make that decision for her, and Simon said 'I do so have that right. I'm courtin' you.' Then Josie said 'Not anymore, you're not.' That's when Pa dragged Simon outside and ordered him off the property."

A triumphant smile tugged at the corners of Adam's mouth. At fifty-four years old, Ben Cartwright hadn't lost a step. But then Adam's face fell. "I can't believe Simon tried to order Josie around," he muttered, running a hand across his mouth. "He's always admired Josie's independence."

"I expect he felt cornered and was tryin' to save face," Hoss opined.

"That's probably true," Adam agreed, admiring his brother's talent for understanding people. "Doesn't excuse his behavior, though." Then, remembering his promise to pulverize Simon if he ever hurt Josie, Adam lifted Josie's chin so she was looking up at him. "You want me to kill him?"

Josie gave him a watery smile. "Maybe later," she sniffed. "Right now, I'd rather have you here." She threaded one arm around Adam's waist and leaned into his chest. Her other hand reached out and grabbed one of Hoss's hands, and she held tightly to him, too, ignoring the throbbing in her still-swollen right hand. The three cousins sat there for several minutes, the two big men doing their best to comfort the heartbroken little lady sandwiched between them.

As Adam sat there stroking Josie's hair, he caught himself staring at the sun-soaked buckboard that was still sitting in the middle of the road, and he got the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide, and he leapt to his feet, tipping Josie over into Hoss's lap. "Oh, no!" he shouted. "The chocolate!" He turned to a very confused Josie. "Hop Sing asked me to bring home some chocolate. I have to get it into the cellar before it melts – if it hasn't already. You want a lift to the house?"

Josie nodded, turned the sign on her door around to "Doctor is out – Please call at the house," and scurried over to the wagon behind Adam.

As Adam helped Josie up into the wagon seat, Hoss called out, "I'm gonna ride out and help Pa and Fionn finish up with those steers."

Adam's head snapped around to look at his brother. "Pa and Fionn?"

"Oh, yeah," Hoss replied. "After Pa ran Simon off, Fionn offered to help him round up the cattle so I could stay here with Josie for a while."

"That was good of him," Adam said, a thoughtful look crossing his face.

"Yeah, it was nice," Josie agreed, wiping her nose with a handkerchief she'd pulled from her skirt pocket.

Adam swung into the wagon seat next to Josie, raised a hand in farewell to Hoss, and clucked to the horses to take them the rest of the way home.

When they reached the house, Adam discovered that fortunately, Molly had very wisely packed the chocolate underneath a sack of sugar so it was out of direct sunlight. Though soft, the chocolate had not gone runny, so Josie ran it down to the cellar and set it between two blocks of sawdust-covered ice to stay cool until Hop Sing needed it.

Hop Sing helped Adam unload the wagon and put the groceries away in the pantry. When they finished, Hop Sing shooed him out of the kitchen so he could prepare dinner, and Adam sauntered into the living room, hoping to find Josie there. The living room was empty, and Adam hung his head, disappointed. He wanted a few private moments with her to make sure she really was all right – or to persuade her that everything would eventually be all right, at least. But then he heard a light giggle wafting down the stairs, and he smiled. Josie must have gone up to Little Joe's room. Joe would cheer her up, Adam knew. Joe wouldn't press her to tell him what was bothering her, but he would listen intently if she offered it up. Remembering the candy he had bought, Adam grabbed the sealed paper cone off the sideboard where he had left it as he carried in the other groceries, and then he bounded up the stairs.

Little Joe's door was halfway open, so Adam walked right in. Pip was lying in the middle of the floor, and Josie was sitting next to Joe on his bed; they were both leaning against the headboard with their legs stretched out. Joe's plaster-encased left leg was still propped up on a small stack of pillows, but he had a smile on his face and was tugging playfully on Josie's nose when Adam stepped into the room.

"Hey, Adam!" Little Joe greeted him with a grin. "'Bout time you came to visit your poor, invalid baby brother."

Adam grinned and tossed Joe the paper cone. Joe caught it neatly and unfolded the flaps holding it closed. His eyes lit up when he saw the colorful gumdrops winking up at him, and he immediately popped one into his mouth. Joe's eyes closed in contentment as his lips pursed around the sweet little morsel.

"Mmmmm," he sighed. "Thanks, Adam!"

"Anytime, little buddy," answered Adam. He caught Josie's eye. "Call you when dinner's ready?"

Josie nodded, and Adam turned and headed back downstairs.

Little Joe held the paper cone out to Josie. "Gumdrop?"

Josie just sighed and laid her head on Joe's shoulder. A fat tear rolled down her cheek. Surprised, Joe set the gumdrops on his night table and put his arm around Josie's shoulders.

"What's all this about?" he asked.

Josie wiped her cheek on her sleeve and launched into the saga of what had happened between Simon and Fionn that afternoon. She had told Little Joe last night about punching Fionn after he kissed her. Joe had laughed at that; he liked Fionn, but he also believed strongly in punching people who deserved it. Joe's eyes widened as Josie related what Simon had said to her that afternoon. Joe had been friends with Simon since they were kids; he couldn't believe that Simon would say something so boneheaded.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it, Josie," Little Joe reassured her. "He was just angry. He wasn't thinking clearly."

"That's what Hoss said," Josie replied. "But I don't care. If he said it, at least part of him must have meant it. And I can't be with someone who thinks he gets to order me around, especially about which patients I can and cannot treat. I've worked too hard to get where I am to give it up."

Joe sat silently, unsure what else to say, but pretty certain Josie didn't need him to say anything anyway. He kept his arm around her and let her sniffle into his shoulder for a while before straightening up a bit and tilting Josie's head up to face him.

"I have an idea," he said. "You and I get the Ponderosa all to ourselves next month when Pa drags Adam and Hoss off on that cattle drive. How about we leave old Baxter in charge and go on a little adventure?"

Josie raised a brow over one bloodshot hazel eye. "What do you have in mind? You won't be able to ride much yet, even by then."

"Nah, not a riding adventure. Besides, you'll be riding all the way to Sacramento with Adam in September. I had something much more original in mind."

Josie raised her other eyebrow in reply, and Little Joe grinned.

"Couple years ago, Hoss and I started building ourselves a canoe," he explained. "Never did finish it, but it's still there in the back of the barn. Once I'm out of this cast, I figured I could finish it up, and you and I could have a little excursion out on Lake Tahoe. Paddle around, camp out. What do you say?"

Josie's face lit up. "That sounds great! And it would be a good activity for you while you're trying to build the strength back up in that leg."

"Always the doctor, aren't you?"

"Around you? Yes." Josie grinned. "Gee, canoeing with you, Sacramento with Adam. I should have let Fionn kiss me sooner."

Joe chuckled and grabbed the gumdrops. This time, Josie accepted one.

"I've got a little gift for you, too," she mumbled around her candy. She hopped off the bed and scampered into the hallway. Joe heard her call for Adam, who appeared in the doorway a few moments later with Josie bobbing behind him. "I think Joe's tired of his bedroom," she explained. "Could you help us out, please?"

Adam grinned. "Hang onto your gumdrops, Little Brother!" he instructed. He took two quick strides across to Little Joe's bed and slipped one arm under his arms and the other under his knees and lifted his brother from the bed. "Sheesh. That cast makes you heavy."

"Josie's fault," Joe replied, sticking his tongue out at Josie as he draped one arm behind Adam's neck.

Josie and Pip followed closely as Adam bore Little Joe down the stairs. Before Adam set his brother down on the settee in the living room, Josie placed a few pillows at one end to prop up Joe's leg. Joe sighed contentedly and stretched his arms over his head as he settled onto the settee.

"Thanks, Adam," he said.

Adam grinned and ruffled Joe's hair before plunking into the blue armchair nearby.

All her distractions gone, Josie felt the heartache come roaring back. Her stomach knotted up, and she felt as if someone were pressing down very hard on the top of her head. An enormous yawn split her jaw, and suddenly it was all she could do to keep her eyes open.

"Well, I'll see you guys at dinner," she sighed. She waved sluggishly at Adam and Joe and trudged back upstairs. When she reached her bedroom, she closed the door behind herself and Pip and collapsed on her bed, overwhelmed by exhaustion. Bone-deep weariness descended on Josie whenever she suffered a heavy emotional blow, and now she wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep for days. It was as if her brain needed to shut down the rest of her body so it could divert all her energy to processing the grief.

Pip rested his chin on the edge of Josie's bed and whined. She cracked her eyes open and stared into her dog's deep brown eyes. His tail started to wag, and he licked Josie's face as he whined again, clearly distressed that he could not figure out what was wrong with his mistress. Josie remembered Ben's admonition that Pip stay off of the household furniture, but at that moment she did not care. She scooted over to free up some space, patted the bed next to her, and called Pip up onto the bed. The enormous dog's eyes lit up as he leapt easily up onto the bed next to Josie and lay down. Josie wrapped an arm around him and snuggled up against his fuzzy body.

"You're so big it's like cuddling with Joe," she muttered to Pip. "Only shaggier."

She regretted saying "shaggier" the moment the word escaped her lips. Shaggy hair made her think of Simon and the way his dark blond hair always flopped into his eyes no matter how recently he had had his hair cut. This, in turn, reminded her of the way his brown eyes sparkled just before he kissed her. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes, and she buried her face in Pip's fur and started weeping again.

"How could he say that to me, Pip?" she hiccupped. "I thought he loved me." Her sobs took over, and Josie cried herself to sleep, her arm still wrapped around the wolfhound and her tears wet on her cheeks.

Downstairs, Adam had risen to follow Josie, but Little Joe had called him back.

"You hover too much and you'll find Jimmy outside her door with a bottle of chloroform again," Joe warned.

"I can't stand to see her hurting."

"Me either, but there's nothing any of us can do to stop it. Heartbreak's one of those things you have to go through alone."

Adam stopped with his hand on the newel as he continued to stare up the stairs. Joe's sagacity surprised him, and he had to admit his youngest brother was right. After Adam's broken engagement, Ben, Hoss, and Joe had all offered comfort, but ultimately, the only true healer was time. Adam sighed and slunk back to the armchair.

He ran his hands through his hair and looked over at Joe. "It's not a matter of _if_ I kill Simon, but rather _how_. Shooting him would be too easy, too quick. Maybe drowning. I'm bigger than he is; I could hold him under long enough."

Little Joe's green eyes grew huge, and he stared at Adam in horror. "Adam, you're kinda scaring me a little."

Adam smiled as he cast his gaze down toward his boots before looking back up at Joe. "Sorry. I just promised Simon that I'd kill him if he ever hurt Josie, and I think I'd be setting a bad example for you and Hoss if I didn't keep my word."

Joe grinned. "I think you getting hanged for murder would set an even worse example."

"Yeah, probably," Adam chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. "Still, I wish there was more I could do."

"Yeah," Joe agreed, his smile vanishing. "Yeah, me, too."

Adam and Joe passed the rest of the afternoon playing checkers. When Little Joe beat Adam for the third time in a row, he knew his older brother must be distracted worrying about Josie and told him just to go check on her already. Adam's long legs took the stairs three at a time, and in a few quick strides, he was at Josie's bedroom door. His knock elicited no answer. Worried, he cracked the door open and poked his head in. Josie was sound asleep on her bed, her arm still wrapped around Pip, and her cheeks crusty with dried tears. Pip looked up and thumped his tail when he saw Adam. The dog's tongue lolled out his open mouth; Pip was clearly pleased with himself for taking such good care of Josie. Adam smiled at him and scratched the dog behind the ears.

"Good boy, Pip," he whispered. He crossed the room to Josie's dressing table, grabbed her buttonhook, and proceeded to somewhat clumsily unbutton her high-topped leather shoes. "Couldn't have worn your boots today, could you?" he muttered.

Josie replied with a mumbled "Urmph" and rolled over but did not wake up. Adam gently pulled off her shoes and flipped the end of the bedspread over her feet so her toes didn't get cold. He set the buttonhook back on Josie's dressing table and then leaned over Pip to kiss Josie's cheek before quietly slipping out of the room.

Just as Adam closed Josie's bedroom door behind him, he heard Ben and Hoss barrel their way into the house. He hurried down the stairs to greet them and ask them to please keep their voices down so they wouldn't wake Josie. With as badly as Josie was hurting, Adam was not about to deny her a few hours' respite from her pain.

Ben nodded to Adam as he stepped off the last stair onto the living room floor. "How's Josie?"

"Sound asleep," Adam answered.

"Is she all right?"

"As all right as can be expected, under the circumstances," Adam sighed as he sank into the armchair once more. "How's Fionn?"

Ben crossed to his leather armchair and sat down to pull off his boots. "He's ok. Hoss and I pulled Simon off him before he took any real damage." He dropped his head into his hands and scrubbed his fingers through his silvery hair. "I just don't know what got into that boy. I can understand him being upset about Fionn kissing Josie, but to say the things he said to her…" He trailed off, still flabbergasted by the afternoon's events.

"Hoss has a theory about that," Adam said.

"Yeah, he told me. And he's probably right. But that boy better come up with a damn good apology if he wants to set foot on the Ponderosa again."

"Agreed."

The four men opted not to wake Josie for supper. Having Little Joe back with the family for the evening meal, albeit on the settee rather than at the table, helped fill the void of Josie's absence, though their thoughts kept returning to the young lady upstairs.

As they were finishing up their meal, they heard a creak at the top of the stairs and turned in perfect synchronization to see Josie standing there with Pip beside her. Her skirt and shirtwaist were wrinkled, and she had put her velvet slippers on over her stockings. She rubbed one gummy eye with the back of her hand as she plodded downstairs. Her pillow had rumpled her hair, and a halo of frizz encircled her head, and once again, Adam could see nothing but the little six-year-old girl who had slipped her tiny hand into his when they first met. Adam, Hoss, and Ben jumped to their feet as she approached the table, and Adam pulled out her chair. Unable to stand, Little Joe waved vigorously at her.

"You hungry?" Adam asked, laying a hand on Josie's shoulder as she sat down.

Josie shrugged her shoulders, which Ben took as invitation enough. He filled a plate for her while Hop Sing prepared a bowl of food for Pip, who was ogling the pork chops on the table. Josie did not dive into the meal with her usual gusto, but she finished off a little better than half the food Ben had heaped onto her plate, and he decided that under the circumstances, half would do. The men tried to carry on normal conversation, but it was difficult to talk about ranch business when Josie sat there silently, glumly carving her pork chop into tiny pieces with surgical precision.

After supper, the family retired to the living room as they usually did. Hoss sidled up to the settee to play checkers with Joe, Ben reclined in his armchair with his pipe, and Adam stretched out on the rug in front of the fireplace with the newspaper he had brought home from town. He had purposely left the blue armchair open for Josie, but, speaking for the first time since she had emerged from her room, she bid everyone goodnight and went back upstairs. The men watched dolefully as she retreated, but no one said a word; as Joe had pointed out earlier, there were no words they could say to relieve Josie of this burden.

Trudging up the stairs took much more effort than it usually did; Josie still felt like there was a weight pressing down on her head and iron blocks tied to each foot. By the time she reached the top of the stairs, she knew she was about to burst into tears again, and she darted into the washroom and furiously pumped water for a bath she didn't really need; she just didn't want the rest of the family to hear her crying again. Josie undressed and got into the tub, where she ducked under the water and released the violent scream that had been fighting all day to get out. She resurfaced, sputtering, grabbed the bristly brush and the bar of soap, and scoured her skin raw, as if she could scrub away the horrible day. Finally, her skin red and stinging, she heaved herself out of the tub, wrapped up in a towel, and leaving her clothes on the washroom floor, she plodded into her bedroom, pulled on fresh drawers and a nightgown, and fell into bed, leaving her towel in a damp heap on the rug. She thought that her long siesta might prevent her from falling asleep, but she was still so exhausted from the day's upheaval that she dozed off almost immediately.

Adam found Josie's discarded attire about two hours later when he carried Little Joe up to bed and then ducked into the washroom to splash some water on his face and chest before heading to bed himself. His cheeks pinkened when he spotted Josie's unmentionables perched brazenly atop her crumpled skirt. Swallowing his embarrassment, he rolled the delicate garments and Josie's shirtwaist up in her skirt and carried them to her bedroom. Not bothering to knock, he slipped in and laid the bundle on her dressing table. He grabbed Josie's discarded towel and glanced down at her before leaving the room. Even in her slumber, she wore a frown, and his own face fell to match hers.

"I wish I could fix this," he whispered before leaving the room. He returned to the washroom, hung up Josie's towel, and washed up quickly before heading to bed.

Adam had not been asleep more than an hour when a squawk from the creaky floorboard outside his bedroom door woke him. A small shaft of light slid along the floor as the door opened just enough for a slim figure to slide through. Adam didn't say a word; he just threw back the covers and scooted over to make space for Josie, who slipped into bed next to him, buried her face in his nightshirt, and began to cry. Adam kissed her forehead and wrapped his strong arms around her.

"It'll be ok," he whispered, tucking her head under his chin. "Somehow, it'll be ok. I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

After that first, horrible night, Josie did her best to go about her usual routine and keep from moping. She rode out to check on Isaiah Jenkins, who had suffered a bad concussion in the mine cave-in, and treated baby Josephine for a mild cough while she was there. On Tuesday, she rode into town and spent the day working at Dr. Martin's clinic as she usually did. Business was slow, but Sally Cass ambled over from her father's store to say hello, and Josie was grateful for the company. Toward the end of the day, Josie heard a horse slow to a stop outside the clinic, and she peeked out the window, hoping to see Simon bearing a small gift and a contrite expression, but instead of Simon's palomino mare, she spotted Fionn's dapple gelding, and she was hit by both disappointment and a mild thrill. Before Fionn could knock, Pip rushed to the door and planted himself in a warning stance with his front legs set wide for stability, his tail down, and the hair on his shoulders bristling. The last two times this human had come near his mistress there had been trouble, and Pip intended to keep Fionn at a distance.

"Hang on, Fionn!" Josie called when she heard his knock. "Pip, get out of the way!" Pip refused to relinquish his spot between Josie and the door, so Josie grabbed hold of his collar and tugged. "Pip! Get. Out. Of. The. Way!" She had no hope of budging the 160-pound beast, but Josie managed to wedge between the dog and the door, which she cracked open a few inches. "Sorry, Fionn!" she called through the small opening. "You'll have to come 'round to the window." She slammed the door shut and dashed to the open window before Pip figured out her plan. When he heard Fionn's footsteps heading toward the side of the clinic, he raced over, but Josie had planted herself firmly in front of the window, so all Pip could do was whine. Had he wanted to, the wolfhound could easily have knocked Josie away from the window, but he would have rather died than possibly hurt her, so he pressed close to her side and stuck his face out the window to keep Fionn back a few inches.

"Hey," Josie said, shifting her weight uncomfortably.

"Hey," Fionn replied. In his hand he carried a long, cylindrical object wrapped in brown paper, which he opened to reveal a large marrow bone. He tossed it to Pip, who caught it expertly and stood there holding the bone in his mouth for several long seconds while he continued to glare at Fionn.

"It's ok, Pip," Josie assured him. She reached her hand through the window and took hold of one of Fionn's. "See? He won't hurt me."

Pip cast a suspicious sidelong glare at Fionn but backed away from the window and lay down on the clinic floor. He began gnawing at the bone, but kept one eye on Josie and Fionn the whole while.

Josie turned her attention to Fionn. "Are you all right?" she asked, peering at his face. The swelling had begun to recede, but the bruises around his eyes were still an angry dark purple, and he had a new one on his cheek that Josie surmised must have come from Simon.

"Oh, aye. I just wanted to talk to you. Is it safe to come in?"

Josie glanced back at Pip, who was relaxing as he enjoyed his bone, and told Fionn to come on in. Much to her amusement, Fionn climbed through the open window rather than bothering to walk back around to the door. As his feet hit the clinic floor and he straightened up, he gave Josie a toothy grin.

"No sense wearin' out the door," he quipped. He swept his hat off his head and tossed it toward the hat rack next to the door, where it snagged perfectly on one of the hooks.

Josie smiled, but the two stood there staring awkwardly at one another for some moments before Fionn spoke up again.

"I wanted to finish my apology from the other day. And add to it, I suppose. I'm sorry I misunderstood you bein' up in me face. Adam was right; don't suppose you could really take stitches out of my eyebrow from across the room." He forced out a chuckle, blushed, and continued. "And I'm especially sorry I caused trouble for you and Croft. If I'd known he was goin' to be there, I would have chosen another time. I didn't mean to-"

Josie held up a hand to cut him off. "Simon's reaction was not your fault, Fionn. You shouldn't have kissed me, but you were right to apologize, and Simon should have accepted that apology, too. It wasn't your fault that he decided to be… unreasonable. Please don't blame yourself for that."

"All right," Fionn said softly, casting his eyes downward. "Have you talked to him, then?"

"No," Josie whispered. "I wouldn't blame him if he's too frightened to come out to the Ponderosa and risk running into Uncle Ben or Adam. But I was hoping he'd come by the clinic today…"

"I wouldn't blame him for avoidin' your ranch, either," Fionn said, his characteristic mischievous twinkle returning to his eyes. "I've never seen anyone so angry as Mr. Cartwright was when he ran him off! I expect Adam's on the warpath, too?"

"Surprisingly, no. Though that could mean he's plotting silently, which with Adam is even worse."

Fionn grinned, then grew somber again. "I'm sure Simon's just been busy. It's nearly time for drivin' cattle to market. He's probably up to his ears in steers."

"You're probably right," Josie agreed, though she did not believe this at all. Simon had always managed to slip away to see her no matter how busy the Lucky Star was. She swallowed hard to tamp down a rising lump in her throat. Desperate not to cry in front of Fionn, she changed the subject. "Let me have a look at your nose. Make sure it's healing straight. Least I can do, since I broke it."

She pointed to a chair near the window, and Fionn obediently sat down. Fionn noticed her hesitate when she reached a hand toward him. "It's all right, Dr. Cartwright," he said with a small smile. "I won't misjudge your intentions again."

Josie smiled back, and the tension between them broke. She placed a hand on Fionn's jaw and gently turned his face toward the late-afternoon sun streaming in the window. She examined the set of his nose from the front and both sides and then ran a finger lightly down the bridge of his nose. He winced when she did this, but overall, Josie was satisfied with his healing progress.

"I'm still really sorry about this," she said, frowning. "I can't believe I punched you."

Fionn grinned. "Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault that I decided to be… unreasonable. Besides," he gave her a wicked grin, "that was a damn good punch."

Josie laughed and stepped back so Fionn could stand up. She glanced at the clock and told Fionn it was time for her to close up and head home.

"Good timin'," he said. "I've got to go get Molly from her shop anyway." He grabbed his hat from the hat rack and reached for the door latch. He opened the door a few inches and then turned back to Josie. "Dr. Cartwright?" Josie looked up. "I do hope you work things out with Croft. He cares about you very much."

"Thank you," Josie replied. Fionn smiled one last time and slid out the door. As the door clicked shut behind him, Fionn muttered, just quietly enough that Josie couldn't hear him, "How could he not?"

Josie had been serious when she had said she did not expect Simon to brave a trip onto Ponderosa land, and as she entered her second week with no word from him, she also quit hoping that he would come by Dr. Martin's clinic. Josie was still angry that he had tried to order her about, but mostly, she just missed him. Having Little Joe around the house all the time helped. He was now hobbling about on a set of crutches Adam and Hoss had made for him, and he always dropped whatever he was doing and gave her his full attention when she came home. But even his cheerful company could not assuage the mounting anxiety she felt over the upcoming Independence Day festival. The Fourth of July had always been a special time for her and Simon, and the thought of not dancing with him brought tears to her eyes.

Finally, at the beginning of the third week after Simon's banishment from the Ponderosa, as the Cartwrights sat about the living room after supper one evening, they heard a horse trot into the front yard. Ben rose from his chair and ambled over to the front door and pulled it open.

"Good evening, Simon," he said coolly.

Over on the settee, Josie's eyebrows popped up over the top of the book she was reading, and Adam cast her a sidelong glance before meeting Hoss's gaze. Both brothers fought the urge to leap from the sofa and beat the snot out of Simon.

"I wanted to apologize for my behavior a few weeks ago," they heard Simon stutter. "I had no right going after Fionn like that, and I certainly shouldn't have caused trouble in Josie's clinic."

"Thank you, Simon," Ben replied, a bit more warmly. "I appreciate that. I expect you'd like to speak with Josephine?"

Simon must have nodded, because Ben waved him through the door. Simon stood there, just barely past the threshold, worrying his hat brim with his fingers and shifting his feet as Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe glared at him. "Uh, hey," Simon greeted them with a pathetic little wave. Adam started to rise from the settee, but Josie laid a hand on his arm and shook her head. She rose to her feet and crossed the room to Simon. Wordlessly, she grabbed his elbow and ushered him back onto the porch, letting Pip slip out with them before she closed the door. The front windows were open, so she led Simon into the middle of the yard to give them a bit more privacy from the straining ears of her cousins.

Simon turned to Josie, wanting to take her in his arms but unsure whether he still held that privilege. "Josie, I am so, so sorry about what happened. I had absolutely no right to tell you who you can and can't treat. I don't know what came over me. I've actually always admired the way you treat everyone, regardless of who they are. You don't see men or women, Indians or whites. You just see people, and you want to help them, and I think that's the most amazing thing in the whole world."

Josie's heart soared as Simon expressed the apology she had so badly needed to hear, and she began to hope that things between them could go back to the way they had been before that awful day. "Thank you," she replied. But then that other issue niggled at her. "But why did you wait so long to talk to me?" Her hazel eyes welled up with all the heartache his absence had caused. "Simon, that was almost three weeks ago. Do you have any idea how awful it's been for me?"

Simon gazed down at his boots, utterly ashamed. "After Mr. Cartwright ran me off, I was afraid to step foot on the Ponderosa again. I thought he or Adam might draw a gun on me if I showed my face." He let out a forced chuckle that told Josie he was only half joking.

"You could have come by Dr. Martin's clinic."

Simon scuffed the toe of one boot through the dirt. "Didn't know when you'd be there," he muttered.

"My schedule hasn't changed in two years."

Simon took a deep breath and looked back up, his eyes meeting Josie's. "Actually, Josie, I didn't know what to say to you."

Josie's mouth dropped open in indignation. "What do you mean? You should have known you owed me an apology!"

Simon smiled a little at Josie's fury. He had always admired her fire. "It ain't that, Josie. It's just that, well, I'm going away for a while, and I didn't know how to tell you."

The angry expression on Josie's face melted into a mask of confusion. "Going away?" she echoed. "What do you mean you're going away? Where would you go? And why?"

"I'm going to San Francisco. When your Aunt Rachel passed through on her way home, she found a furniture maker who agreed to take me on as his apprentice. Pa agreed I should do it, so when we drive our cattle there, I'll just stay on."

Josie was gob smacked. The air rushed out of her lungs and it was a good fifteen seconds before she could draw a full breath. "How long will you be gone?" she squeaked, hoping her voice was not as tiny as she knew it must be.

"That's just the thing," Simon said as he shifted his weight. "Mr. Tobin – that's the furniture maker – he's agreed to take me on for a year. If he likes my work, he might keep me on for good after that."

"For good?"

Simon dropped his gaze again. "Maybe. That's what I was coming out here to tell you that day I jumped Fionn."

Josie's eyes blazed. "So you were coming out here to tell me you were leaving me? Here I've been hoping for the past three weeks that we could patch things up, when you'd been planning all along to leave me anyway?!"

"No, Josie, that wasn't it at all!" Simon insisted, pleading. "I wanted to talk it over with you before I decided for sure. I was… well, I was hoping you'd come with me."

Josie stood silently for some moments, processing the implications of Simon's confession. "There's no way I could have come with you unless we were-" Josie broke off as she understood Simon's original intention, and her heart sank. She closed her eyes. "Had you already spoken to Uncle Ben?"

Simon shook his head. "I was hoping to catch him – and Adam – first and then come talk to you. But then I saw you in your clinic as I rode by, and I couldn't wait, so I came in. And then I jumped Fionn. Guess I kinda messed up."

"Yeah," Josie agreed. She swallowed hard as their eyes met and Josie saw Simon's eyes were, like hers, swimming with tears. They stared at each other for a long time, Simon wanting to beg Josie to come with him to San Francisco, and Josie wanting to beg him to stay. But they both knew neither was possible. Their relationship needed time to mend – time they didn't have if Simon were to accept the opportunity in San Francisco. And they both recognized that he would be foolish to pass it up.

"When do you leave?" Josie said instead.

Simon sighed. "Tomorrow. We're doing our drive early so I can get out there sooner." He bit his lip to steady his quivering chin, but the tears in his eyes spilled over onto his cheeks. "I don't expect you to wait for me," he croaked. "Especially since I don't know that I'll even be back. But I want you to know I still love you as much as I ever did."

"I love you, too," Josie whispered. Tears leaked from her eyes as her new reality sank in. Even when she and Simon had not been speaking, at least she could hold onto the hope that she might run into him in town. Now he would be 250 miles away with no promise of returning. That same heavy weight descended on her shoulders and she felt like she was being drilled downward into the ground.

Simon wrapped an arm around her waist, drew Josie close, and kissed her with a desperate intensity. All too soon, he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "I love you, Josephine Cartwright," he whispered. "I always will." He glanced at the snoozing wolfhound at their feet. "Take care of her, Pip," he choked out. Then, not wanting to drag out their painful goodbye, he vaulted onto his palomino and wheeled away into the fading light.

Josie managed eight full seconds of composure before she sank to the ground and burst into tears. Pip woke up and whined as he tried to lick away her tears. Josie wrapped her arms around the dog and sobbed into his fur.

Inside, Adam had, indeed, been straining to hear Josie and Simon's conversation, but because Josie had had the good sense to take Simon into the center of the yard, Adam wouldn't have been able to make out a word without sticking his head out of one of the open windows – and he had more self-respect than to do that. He could, however, hear Simon's departure and Josie's emotional breakdown quite clearly, and he sprang from the settee and shot out the door. Worried that Adam was about to take off after Simon, Hoss and Ben followed him.

Adam's original intention was to saddle up Sport and ride out to the Lucky Star to give Simon a good thrashing, but he stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Josie in a sobbing heap in the middle of the yard. Shoving Pip aside, he dropped to the ground next to Josie and pulled her into his lap.

"Did he hurt you?" Adam pushed the hair off her brow a little less gently than he had intended and examined Josie's face, looking for bruises. Simon had never struck him as the sort to beat a woman, but finding Josie on the ground like this brought to mind Molly's story about her ex-boyfriend, John, and a pang of fear shot through Adam's belly.

Josie shook her head. "No, he kissed me!" she wailed and buried her face in Adam's shirt.

Thoroughly confused, Adam stood up with Josie in his arms. He swept past his equally confused father and brother and carried Josie inside, where he set her on the settee. Little Joe tried to leap from his chair to go over to her and swore loudly when his cast held him back. Ben rushed in from outside and nearly bowled Adam over as he, too, tried to reach Josie. The two eldest Cartwright men jockeyed for position for a few seconds before they each sat down on one side of Josie. Ben asked Hoss to bring Josie a brandy, but instead of grabbing the brandy bottle, Hoss lumbered over to the safe behind Ben's desk and pulled out Ben's bottle of fine Kentucky bourbon. Ben's mouth dropped open in protest as Hoss cracked the seal on the bottle and poured a generous amount into one of the brandy snifters.

"Josie hates brandy," Hoss explained.

"We've got other whiskeys," Ben moaned.

"Extremis malis extrema remedia, Pa," Adam countered, wiping the tears from Josie's cheeks with his handkerchief. Hoss handed him the snifter, which Adam held out to Josie. She accepted the glass and leaned into Adam's chest. Her free hand clutched Adam's shirtfront as she sipped at her bourbon.

"Stuff's pretty good," she sniffled.

"Child, what happened?" Ben asked, no longer concerned about the whiskey; he could order another bottle.

Josie drew in a long, shuddering breath and told her family about her conversation with Simon. Adam stiffened when Josie reached the part about Simon coming to ask him and Ben for her hand, but he realized that had the incident in the clinic never occurred, he would have given Simon his blessing. This made him ache even more for Josie, knowing that she was on the verge of such great happiness only to have it ripped away by a young man's rash decision. Adam pulled Josie a little more tightly into his chest and kissed the crown of her head.

"Josie, I'm so sorry," Hoss said, laying a hand on Josie's shoulder.

Josie drained her whiskey glass and handed the empty vessel to Hoss, who set it on the coffee table. The family sat there for a long time, Josie curled up against Adam, Ben and Hoss each with a hand on her shoulder, and Little Joe wishing desperately that he were able to get out of his chair to join them.

At long last, Josie lifted her head and glanced around at her family through puffy, red-rimmed eyes. "I think I'd like to go to bed," she said softly. Everyone nodded, and Adam let go of her so Josie could get off the settee. She swayed a little from the bourbon as she rose, and Adam grabbed her elbow to steady her and then followed her up the stairs to make sure she didn't take a tumble.

Once Josie was safely deposited in her bedroom, Adam returned to the living room, his legs feeling like two sticks of lead. He dropped heavily onto the settee next to Ben and ran his hands through his hair.

"Can you believe that?" he sighed.

"Which part?" Joe asked.

"That Simon had planned to propose."

"Yes, I can," Ben interjected. "I'd suspected that was coming for some time now. It's a shame it ended this way."

"Yeah," Hoss agreed. "And ol' Simon ain't got nobody to blame but himself. If he hadn't overreacted in the clinic that day, we'd be plannin' a wedding."

The four men fell silent as the truth of Hoss's statement sank in.

"Instead, we're putting Josie back together," Adam said at last. Thinking he shouldn't have left her alone so soon, Adam rose to go back upstairs to check on his cousin. Ben stopped him.

"Let her be, son. Give her some time to grieve without anyone staring at her."

Adam nodded and dropped back onto the sofa. He leaned forward and grabbed the whiskey bottle that was still sitting on the coffee table. "Carpe diem," he said as he poured himself a hefty serving in Josie's abandoned glass.

Ben nodded and retrieved three more glasses. It didn't take long for the four men to finish off the bottle. Afterward, swaying a good deal now himself, Adam strode upstairs to check on Josie. He knocked on her bedroom door, but when he received no answer, he swung the door open to reveal her sound asleep in her bed. Adam was relieved to see she had changed into a nightgown and tucked herself in rather than just falling over fully clothed onto her bed. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, then slipped out of the room.

Sometime in the middle of the night – Adam knew only that his bedroom was pitch dark – he awoke to the sound of sobbing in the next room. He swung his long legs out of bed, crammed his feet into his slippers, and darted for Josie's room. When he arrived, he was surprised to see that Ben was already there, sitting on the edge of Josie's bed and rubbing her back as she cried into her pillow. He looked up at Adam with a slightly sheepish expression.

"No matter how old your children get, you never stop listening for crying in the night," he explained.

Adam smiled gratefully at his father and then reached down and stroked Josie's hair a few times. "Wake me if you need me," he whispered to his cousin before returning to his bedroom, knowing that Josie was in good hands.

Ben watched his son retreat and then returned his attention to his niece. "You just cry all you want," he said, still rubbing her back. "Don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't cry."

Ben sat up with Josie long after she sobbed herself to sleep, and he was still there when the sun rose the next morning.

Despite her best efforts, Josie moped for the next week. The news from the warfront didn't help, either. The Confederate Army had spent the month of June making its way northward and was now marching through Maryland and Pennsylvania. The Union Army was hot on its tail, and the two forces appeared to be gearing up for a colossal clash that everyone was expecting any day now, most likely in northern Maryland or southern Pennsylvania. Jacob Cartwright would certainly not be getting his hoped-for leave over the Fourth of July, and Josie was wracked with angst over his safety.

When Josie went into town for her clinic shift on Friday, July 3, Virginia City was abuzz with war talk. She went straight to the telegraph office to get the official news from Morris.

As it turned out, even the official news was uncertain because the battle was not yet over. On June 30, Union and Confederate forces had surprised each other in the southern Pennsylvania hamlet of Gettysburg and had raced pell-mell back to their commanders. The two armies had clashed just outside the town on July 1, and as of Friday morning, July 3, the battle continued to rage. There were already estimates that this would be the largest, bloodiest battle of the war to that point, and Josie said a silent prayer for the men on both sides. Suddenly, her tiff with Simon seemed less important.

Business was slow at the clinic, so Josie closed up early that afternoon and rode home wishing she had better news for her uncle. She knew he would be worried, too, when he heard about the Battle of Gettysburg because Jacob was certainly there, and it would probably be a week or more before they would receive word that he was all right. Josie and Ben, however, were both learning not to panic every time they received word of a battle, and Ben took the news of Gettysburg well, reassuring Josie that Jacob would wire them soon, though they both expressed dismay over the loss of all of those lives.

That night at dinner, Josie was consumed by a different, more selfish, gloom. She picked at her steak and spent a solid five minutes pushing peas around her plate until finally, Hoss spoke up.

"Uncle Jacob'll be all right, Josie," he chirped bracingly.

Josie snapped her head up and stared vacantly at him. "Actually, that wasn't what I was thinking at all."

"What's on your mind, sweetheart?" Ben asked as he passed the basket of biscuits over to Adam.

Josie sighed and blew a lock of hair out of her eyes. "I don't think I'm going to go to the festival tomorrow."

"Aw!" Joe groaned from his seat on the settee, where he still took his meals so he could keep his leg propped up and out of everyone else's way. "Why not?"

"I've been meaning to give the clinic a good scrubbing, and tomorrow will be the perfect opportunity. Everyone will be in town, so if anyone needs a doctor, they can send for Paul." She said this in such a rush that Adam knew she'd been rehearsing this line in her head, probably for her entire ride home from town.

Everyone knew Josie was reluctant to attend the festival because it had always been a special time for her and Simon, but they were all too considerate to challenge her, at least here at the dinner table in front of the entire family. Adam and Ben shared a knowing glance before Ben spoke up again.

"Well, I'm sorry to hear that, Josephine. I was hoping you'd stick close to me to keep Widow Hawkins at bay."

Josie rewarded Ben with a small smile as his funny comment reminded her that she need not attend the festival alone. She had been so wrapped up thinking about Hoss with Patience, Adam with Molly, and Little Joe with the rest of Virginia City's young ladies that she hadn't considered she would still have her uncle for company. There were certainly worse fates than spending the day on Ben's arm. He was always good for stimulating conversation and would most likely parade her around like a queen.

Refusing to give in too easily, however, she replied, "Oh, I don't know. I just got in all those new bottles of medicine, and I really should organize them."

"I'll buy you ice cream," Adam prodded.

"Now that's just fighting dirty," Josie shot back. She stuck her tongue out at him for good measure.

"Is it working?"

"Yes," Josie grumbled, even as she smiled at Adam.

As everyone headed to bed that evening, Adam grabbed Josie's elbow and pulled her aside.

"Listen, I know why you're reluctant to go tomorrow, so if at any point you're really not having fun, you just speak up, and I'll bring you home, all right?"

"Thanks, Adam," Josie replied, genuinely grateful to him. "But I'm sure it will be ok. So long as I can keep Clementine from sinking her claws into Uncle Ben."

Adam could tell Josie was acting braver than she felt, but he admired her gumption. He gave her a quick goodnight peck on the forehead and nudged her toward her bedroom door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Everyone slept in an extra hour the next morning before waking to the delicious smells of Hop Sing cooking pancakes and bacon. As she dressed, Josie felt the unique sensation of her stomach rumbling with hunger while simultaneously lurching with sadness as she remembered that this would be her first Fourth of July in Nevada without Simon. She again considered staying home, but she knew the townspeople would figure out sooner or later than she and Simon were no longer together, so she might as well get it over with. At least she would have Ben close by.

Since Josie was wearing one of her nicest day dresses and Little Joe still had the cast on his left leg for one more day, Ben drove one of the buggies while Adam and Hoss rode alongside and Pip trotted behind them. Little Joe reclined in the back seat and kept himself entertained for the first part of the long ride by occasionally poking Josie in the ribs with the end of one of his crutches. He gave it up, however, when Josie whipped around and threatened to leave him in his cast until Christmas.

The meadow on the edge of town was bustling with people when the Cartwrights arrived, and after settling Little Joe on a blanket under a large oak tree, Adam and Hoss wandered off to find Molly and Patience. Ben took Josie and Pip with him on his rounds to greet everyone, and Sheriff Coffee told them that the Confederates had turned tail at Gettysburg and were retreating across the Mason-Dixon Line.

"Now that's some good Independence Day news," Ben said, squeezing Josie's shoulders with one arm. She smiled up at him, pleased that the battle was over, though she shuddered to think how many names would be on the casualty reports.

Josie spent a pleasant morning strolling around the meadow with Ben and greeting their friends and neighbors. It felt strange being there without Simon, but she did her best to push him from her mind and enjoy the day. Ben had a close call with Widow Hawkins, but just as Clementine was about to launch into an ode to silver-haired, barrel-chested men, Josie pretended to spot one of Ben's old friends on the other side of the meadow and dragged him away.

Shortly before lunch, Hoss, Patience, Adam, Molly, and Fionn met back up with Ben and Josie near Little Joe's pallet in the shade. Fionn initially kept a careful distance from Josie, but then, realizing Simon Croft was nowhere in sight, he leaned over and kissed the back of Josie's hand.

"Please don't misjudge my intentions," he teased, his eyes twinkling up at her. "I'm just bein' polite."

Josie giggled involuntarily, and Fionn flashed her a wide grin. Adam and Hoss caught each other's gazes over Fionn's and Josie's heads. Adam raised one eyebrow, and Hoss replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

The large group sat down together across several picnic blankets, and everyone spread out the food they had brought to create one giant meal for the entire ensemble. Fionn took a second helping of Hop Sing's fried chicken, while Hoss praised the heavens for Patience's chocolate cookies. Ben congratulated Molly on her potato salad and elbowed Adam sharply in the ribs as he pontificated on the wonders of women who knew how to cook.

Tiring of his father's not-so-subtle hints, Adam piped up, "You've got a good point, Pa. You know, I hear Widow Hawkins makes a mean roast duck."

That shut Ben up.

Later that afternoon, Adam was waiting in line to buy lemonade for Molly when she turned to him to ask about a topic that had been bothering her all day.

"Where's Simon?" She said this almost accusingly.

Adam didn't process what Molly had just said. She was wearing a comely new dress she had crafted from the blue-and-lavender gingham Adam had bought for her, so he had been in a state of mild distraction all day. The dress had a full, flowing skirt, but it fit snugly in all the right places, and Adam had to keep reminding himself not to run his hands all over Molly in the middle of the Fourth of July festival. Adam grinned and threaded his arm around Molly's waist. She rolled her eyes, grabbed his chin, and turned his face so he was gazing across the meadow to where Josie sat on the blanket with Little Joe. The rest of the lunch group had dispersed, and Josie now sat leaned up against Little Joe, both of them fighting drowsiness.

"Where's Simon?" Molly repeated. Having heard nothing to the contrary, she had assumed Josie and Simon had made up by now.

Adam sighed as Molly's question sank in. As they inched forward in line, Adam related what had happened between Josie and Simon a week earlier. Molly's face took on a horrified expression, and she fished a dime out of her pocket. When they reached the front of the queue and Adam ordered two lemonades, Molly slapped her dime onto the table and asked for two more. She snatched up the little cups and hustled over to where Josie reclined under the tree with Little Joe.

"Adam told me what happened," Molly said to Josie as she sat down on the blanket. "I am so sorry Fionn caused all this trouble for you. I ought to fix his flint." She handed one of her lemonades to Josie and the other to Little Joe.

"It wasn't Fionn's fault," Josie said, accepting and thanking Molly for the lemonade. "Simon would have gone away for this apprenticeship even without the incident with Fionn." None of the Cartwrights breathed a word to Molly of Simon's original intention. That wasn't Fionn's fault, either, and it just would have made Molly feel worse.

Adam sat down next to Josie and put an arm around her. "You want me to kill him?" he asked, echoing his offer from the previous month.

Josie let out a small puff of air that was very nearly a chuckle. "No. He's halfway to San Francisco by now. Besides, if I decide he needs killing, I get to do that honor myself." She pulled up the hem of her dress to reveal her trusty Derringer on her right ankle.

Adam grinned, but Molly exclaimed, "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" as her right hand flew to her bosom.

"It's all right, Molly," Adam assured her. "Josie knows how to handle a gun."

"It isn't that," Molly said, her eyes never leaving Josie's weapon. "That's amazin', that is! Where did you get it?"

Josie finally cracked a small smile at Molly's excitement over the little gun. "It was a gift from my father when I finished medical school. I always have it on me when I'm not carrying my Colt."

"Brilliant," Molly declared, and Josie took note of the covetous gleam in Molly's eye and resolved to find out when the seamstress's birthday was.

Unfortunately, the lighter mood faded, and the now-familiar heaviness swept over Josie, and she wanted nothing more than to rest her head against Joe's chest and fall asleep. Adam sensed his cousin's fatigue and shifted behind her a bit so she could lean against him and give Joe a break.

"Hey," he said gently. "You want me to take you home?"

Josie considered this for a moment. Her initial thought was "Absolutely!" but the idea of sitting at home alone – or worse yet, sitting at home with Adam and knowing she was keeping him from spending a magical evening with Molly – was worse than the thought of muddling through the rest of the day at the festival.

"No, I'll stay. Can't leave Little Joe here all by himself, can I?"

Little Joe kissed Josie's cheek and then grinned smugly up at Adam. It wasn't often Josie chose him over his oldest brother, and Joe intended to rub it in as much as he could.

"If you need anything, come find me. Promise?" Adam said.

Josie nodded. "I promise."

"Ok." Adam kissed her cheek and, feeling horrifically guilty, led Molly back into the throng of people. They had been gone only a few moments, however, when they returned, each of them bearing a bowl teetering with several scoops of freshly churned ice cream. Adam smiled as Josie's eyes lit up at the sight of the treat.

"Thank you!" she and Little Joe chimed in unison as Adam and Molly handed them the bowls.

"I promised you, didn't I?" Adam replied with a grin. Seeing that Josie really was content with Little Joe and a bowl of ice cream, he once more offered Molly his arm and led her away, this time feeling much more comfortable leaving Josie behind in the shade of the oak tree.

Josie and Little Joe sat back-to-back and leaned against one another as they dug into their ice cream.

"Ohhhhh, they made chocolate this year!" Josie groaned with pleasure and dropped her head back to rest against Joe's.

"Strawberry, too!" Little Joe exclaimed as he unearthed a new flavor in the depths of his bowl.

They ate happily for several minutes, Josie giggling when Joe hollered in pain and clutched at the bridge of his nose.

"Don't eat it so fast, Greedy!" she chastised him.

Little Joe finished his ice cream first and stared forlornly into his empty bowl. He sensed the darkness settling over Josie again as she, too, finished off her ice cream, and he cast about for something to distract her.

"Hey, Josie!" he said brightly. "You want to read _David Copperfield_? I brought it along. It's under the back seat of the buggy."

Josie wanted to do nothing but sleep away the rest of the afternoon under the oak tree, but she forced a smile and retrieved the book from the wagon. She stretched out on the blanket next to Joe, turned to the page where they had left off, and began to read. Before long, Josie's gentle narration attracted Sally Cass and Fionn, who both settled on the blanket with them to listen to the story, Fionn occasionally handing Josie a canteen to keep her throat from drying out as she read. After two chapters, Josie's voice began to give out, so she tucked the bookmark between the pages and set the hefty novel down.

"I always liked that book," Sally sighed. "David has so much courage."

"I've never read it, but now I think I'd like to hear the whole thing," Fionn added. "I'm not much for readin', but I like hearin' stories told out loud."

"It's too bad it's so hard to get books out here," Josie lamented. "We have to order them in from San Francisco, and sometimes New York, depending on the book. That hasn't been easy, either, with the war on."

"What this town really needs is a library," Little Joe muttered, half to himself.

Josie, Sally, and Fionn turned and stared at him, mouths agape.

Josie spoke first, a little hoarsely from reading aloud for so long. "Joe, that's brilliant!"

"What is?" Joe asked. "A library? That ain't brilliant. They got hundreds of 'em back east."

"Yeah, but none here!" Sally pointed out. "The closest one is Sacramento, and you have to pay to use it."

"So what are you suggestin'?" Fionn asked. "Settin' up a free library in Virginia City?"

"Why not?" Josie replied. "We probably have enough books on the Ponderosa alone to start one. I have a few I'd be willing to part with, and I'm sure Adam and Uncle Ben do, too."

"Adam part with a book?" Joe asked, one skeptical eyebrow soaring skyward.

"All right, so I'll steal a few while he's asleep," Josie teased. "He doesn't need two copies of _The Song of Hiawatha_ anyway."

"Adam's a pretty light sleeper."

"I've got chloroform."

"We'd need donors," Sally broke in. "People who would be willing to give us either books or money to order more."

"I'm sure Pa would help," Joe said.

"And I could write to Aunt Rachel," Josie added, nearly bubbling over with enthusiasm now. "She donates lots of money to the Boston library, and I think she'd be thrilled that I was doing something to help civilize our little 'hamlet,' as she calls it."

"We'd need a space," Fionn mentioned. "Can't rightly set all the books out in the street, can we?"

"That's easy," Sally said, waving a hand dismissively. "Daddy owns the storefront next to ours. He'd planned to expand a little and start carrying more tack, maybe even some saddles, but our grocery business picked up so much he hasn't had the time or the help. He's been talking about renting it out, but I could probably talk him into letting us have it."

"We'd need people to run it, though," Josie mused, locking gazes with Sally as if her friend's blue eyes might provide an answer. "I've got my clinic, Joe works on the ranch, Fionn's got his farm, and you help your father."

"If the library's right next to the store, there's no reason I couldn't have it open for people during our store's hours when I'm there anyway," Sally pointed out. "And I bet Patience would help us, too."

"I'd feel bad leaving you with all the work," Josie said.

Sally laughed. "Are you kidding?! I'd be delighted! I'd finally have something more interesting to discuss than calico and hair ribbons!"

Josie grinned, her eyes shining with excitement. "We could really make this happen," she marveled.

"We sure could," Little Joe agreed.

The four friends spent the rest of the afternoon hashing out plans for their library. Fionn scampered off and soon returned with several sheets of paper and four pencils. He and Sally began brainstorming fundraising ideas while Josie and Little Joe drew up lists of books they would like to include in their collection. When Adam, Molly, Hoss, Patience, and Ben reappeared at dinnertime, the quartet had a list of nearly one hundred titles along with plans for Virginia City's first Fall Festival to support the free public library. When Ben asked what they were plotting, Josie started babbling so quickly that Ben had to hold up a hand to stop her and ask her to take a breath and start over. Fionn, Little Joe, and Sally chimed in here and there, and Ben's eyebrows rose a little higher with each new idea the young people threw at him.

Adam grinned, thoroughly impressed with Josie, Little Joe, and their friends, and also pleased that Josie had found an activity to distract her.

"You know, Pa," Hoss said, skimming Sally's neatly written plans for the Fall Festival. "These plans are really good. This could work."

"Of course it will work!" Sally huffed, snatching her plans back from Hoss. "We've had Virginia City's four best minds working on it all afternoon!"

Adam read the plans over Sally's shoulder. "It's intriguing, all right. But what about the people who can't read? A lot of the miners and small farmers around here can barely sign their own names."

Josie and Sally shared an amused, maternal smile, as if Adam were a toddler who had just said something adorable.

"What about the people who can't read?' he asks," Sally cooed. "Bless him."

"We already thought of that," Josie said, handing Adam another page. "Abigail Myers quit teaching when she got married, but she's mentioned to Sally how much she misses it. We thought we'd ask her if she'd like to teach literacy classes once a week in the library. We couldn't pay her, but perhaps she'd do it for free."

"And if she won't, there's plenty of other people we can ask," Little Joe added. "Believe it or not, Widow Hawkins was a school teacher, once upon a time in England."

Ben's skin crawled at the mention of the widow's name, but he shook it off and focused on the proposal before him. "Well," he said, "I think it's a terrific idea! You can count on the Ponderosa for some of your backing, on one condition."

"What's that, Pa?" Joe asked.

"This library must be open to everyone, and I do mean _everyone_ : men, women, children, Mexicans, Chinese, Jews, Negroes, everyone." A few years back, there had been a problem with a town schoolmaster who had been expelling Mexican, Jewish, and Indian boys, claiming they were "insubordinate." Ben had helped bring the man's true intolerant motivations to light, and he certainly didn't want his niece and son's new library to ever be accused of similar sentiments.

The four friends exchanged befuddled expressions.

"Well, of course it will be, Pa," Joe replied, scratching his head.

"Yeah, Uncle Ben," Josie added. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Hoss and Adam exchanged amused glances while Ben marveled at the young people and felt a burst of hope that their generation would make the world a more tolerant place.

The group dug into their picnic baskets again and feasted themselves silly. Adam shot frequent glances over at Josie, and while he could sense her lingering sadness, she at least seemed to be finding a little happiness in her friends and their plans. She wasn't eating quite as heartily as usual, but she polished off a chicken leg and some of the remaining potato salad that Molly had brought, so Adam was satisfied.

Josie was, indeed, taking comfort in her friends and their hopes for the library, but as supper wound down and the paper lanterns hanging over the dance floor were lit, her spirits dropped again. She could feel Adam's eyes on her, so she plastered a smile on her face and tried to pretend that she was looking forward to the dancing as much as she always did. When the band struck up the first reel, she gave Adam and Molly a little push toward the dance floor as Fionn grabbed Sally's hand and raced away with her. She started to sink back onto the blanket next to Little Joe when Ben took her hand.

"You promised to protect me, remember?" he said, smiling at her.

Josie gave her uncle a half-hearted smile and let him lead her into the throng of reeling couples. Though her feet were as light as ever, Josie's heart was not committed to the dancing; she felt an empty space around her where Simon ought to have been. Ben noticed her melancholia and did his best to cheer her up by cracking silly jokes, though he knew his efforts would make little difference; he understood grief all too well and remembered just how physically exhausting maintaining a cheerful countenance in a crowd of people could be. After a few dances, he gave Josie a break and suggested she sit down for a few moments while he got them some water. Josie agreed and sank onto a bench at the edge of the dance floor, grateful for the respite.

She was thinking that perhaps she should have let Adam take her home after all, when Fionn collapsed onto the bench next to her.

"Whew!" he exclaimed, brushing a sweaty lock of auburn hair off his forehead. "Those reels will wear a body out."

Not feeling much like talking, Josie merely nodded in agreement, but Fionn soldiered on.

"Feel bad for poor Joe. Missin' out on all this fine dancin.'"

Josie glanced over her shoulder at Little Joe, who was reclined on his blanket and surrounded by several young ladies. His head rested in the lap of a comely blonde who was stroking his hair, and a brunette was spoon-feeding him ice cream while a bevy of four or five other young ladies jostled each other for positions closer to him. Josie rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, he looks like he's really suffering." She rolled her eyes again as she saw Sally Cass join the crush of girls around Joe.

"Aye, and now he's taken me dance partner!" Fionn added, shaking his head. "The girls all think he's some pumpkins, don't they?"

"It's the cast. They think he's brave."

"So brave you had to drug him to get the cast on him, from what Hoss tells me."

Josie giggled despite herself. "Yeah, it was a bit mean."

Fionn grinned at her, his teeth flashing in the light from the paper lanterns. "You want to be a bit meaner to him?" Josie raised an eyebrow in reply, and Fionn leapt to his feet and extended his right hand. "Let's show him how much more fun it is to have two working legs."

Josie hesitated, not sure she wanted to dance again, but Fionn stuck his hand out a little farther in her direction. "Come on, Dr. Cartwright. I promise there will be no misinterpretations." He smiled at her with his entire face like he had the night of the earthquake, his eyes scrunching nearly closed and his nose wrinkling in that endearing way that made all his freckles squish together.

"All right," Josie conceded, taking his hand. "But if we're going to be friends, you really have to stop the 'Dr. Cartwright' thing. Call me 'Josie,' 'Josephine,' or, if you must, 'Hey, You,' but 'Dr. Cartwright' just has to go."

Fionn's face smiled again. "I can do that, Hey, You," he teased, and he gave Josie's hand a little squeeze. Josie groaned and shook her head. If Molly's persistent use of "Just Adam" was any indication, Josie had a feeling Fionn would be calling her "Hey, You" forever. But she let him lead her onto the dance floor all the same.

Fionn wasn't quite as light on his feet as Simon, but he and Josie soon fell into step, and Josie broke into a smile as they whirled around the dance floor. Adam and Molly took a little break from dancing and watched their siblings spin around.

"I'm glad they made up," Molly said. "Fionn felt terrible about the whole thing."

"I think everyone did," Adam added, slipping his arms around Molly's waist from behind. She leaned into his chest and smiled as she continued to watch Fionn flit Josie around the dance floor.

Though her heart still ached, Josie could not help but enjoy herself a bit. She was glad she and Fionn were friends again. His happy-go-lucky nature reminded her a lot of Little Joe, and the familiarity set her at ease. She barely even noticed the time passing, and before it seemed possible, Adam was whisking her away for their final waltz.

At the end of the evening, as Adam bid goodnight to Molly, Josie sought out Fionn.

"Thank you," she said, taking one of his hands warmly in both of hers. "Not only for the dancing, but your ideas for the library, too. And just for being a friend. I needed one today."

Fionn smiled at her, the ever-present mischief in his eyes softening into a warm fondness. "Anything for my Hey, You." He kissed the back of her right hand, winked at her, and sauntered toward his wagon to wait for Molly.

Josie watched him go, uncertain whether to roll her eyes, giggle, or burst into tears. She was rescued from having to decide by Ben, who appeared behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"She caught me."

"I'm sorry?" Josie turned around to face her uncle and gasped when she saw a bright red set of lips painted in the middle of Ben's right cheek. Her hand dived into her skirt pocket and extracted a handkerchief, which she used to wipe the lip print off Ben's face. "Man alive!" she exclaimed as she inspected Ben's face to make sure it was clean. "I don't believe this!"

"Me, either," Ben replied despondently. "I had no idea she could run so fast. I couldn't believe it when she cleared that hedge."

Josie stared at Ben for a couple seconds as she worked out his meaning, and then she burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, Uncle Ben," she said when she at last brought herself under control. "That's not what I meant at all! I meant the Widow Hawkins wearing lip paint in public. My goodness, I thought she fancied herself a proper lady, not an… an _adventuress_!"

"Josephine!"

"Sorry, Uncle Ben. It's just so scandalous." Josie's eyes gleamed with a rascally delight that Ben was only too familiar with.

"You will _not_ write to your Aunt Rachel about this!"

Josie cast him an expression of wide-eyed innocence. "But Uncle Ben, she should be aware what sort of person she's dealing with before she helps Clementine arrange a visit to Boston."

Ben glared skeptically down at Josie, one eyebrow raised. "If I thought your motivation was unimpeachable, Josephine, I would have no objection. However, I suspect it is not, and I'll not have you provoking your aunt. The last thing I need is _two_ women breathing down my neck."

Josie laughed again and slipped her arm through Ben's. "Come on," she said. "Let's pull foot before Clementine can sink her claws into you again."

Ben escorted Josie back to the Cartwrights' wagon, which they drove close to the tree Joe was lounging under, still surrounded by half a dozen young women.

"I'm sorry, ladies," Joe said as Ben helped him to his feet and gave him his crutches. "This has been a splendid evening, but don't you worry. I get out of this cast tomorrow, and I promise I'll pay each of you a visit very soon."

The girls stuck out their lower lips and whined, but then lined up so each of them could give Little Joe a goodbye peck on the cheek. Josie and Ben rolled their eyes as they waited for the queue to dwindle, Josie throwing Sally a look of disappointment and dismay as she took her turn kissing Joe. Sally blushed and scampered off into the dark to find her own family.

When the young ladies had at last finished with Little Joe, Ben heaved him up into the back seat of the buggy.

"You know something, Pa?" Joe said as he settled onto the seat. "Today was a lot better than I'd expected."

"Bully for you," Ben grumbled as he helped Josie into the front seat and then trotted away to collect Hoss and Adam.

Slightly hurt, Little Joe turned to Josie. "What's his problem?"

"Little run-in with our favorite widow," Josie replied, her eyes twinkling merrily.

Joe laughed, but his hilarity was cut short by Ben's return. Adam and Hoss followed behind, and they did not miss the mirthful looks on Josie's and Joe's faces. Adam caught Josie's eye, and she silently mouthed the word "Later" to him. Adam grinned back, relieved to see that Josie seemed to have had a good day.

Everyone was quiet on the ride home. Little Joe dozed in the back seat of the buggy, Hoss was lost in deep thought, and Adam and Josie didn't want to annoy Ben, who wore a disgruntled look all the way home.

After they returned home and everyone was in bed, Adam slipped out of his bedroom and thumped softly on Josie's door. Knowing it would be Adam who was waiting in the hallway, Josie popped out of bed and pulled the door open just far enough for him to slide in without casting too much light from her oil lamp into the hall. They plopped down side-by-side on the edge of Josie's bed.

"Please tell me what happened," Adam begged, a huge smile already spreading across his face. Josie related how Widow Hawkins had left her brand on Ben, and Adam had to press his face into a pillow to keep his laughter from waking the rest of the house. It was a full two minutes before he emerged, red-faced.

"You know," he said, his eyes dancing with a very Little Joe-like mischief. "Pa didn't say _I_ couldn't write to Aunt Rachel."

Josie ripped the pillow from Adam's hands and plunged her own face into it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

The next morning, Little Joe woke an hour early and hollered at the top of his lungs until the rest of the family rushed into his bedroom.

"Joseph!" Ben declared, his eyes wild and his silver hair sticking out at all angles. "What is it? What's wrong?!"

Little Joe threw back his blankets and pointed to the dingy cast on his left leg. "Get this off of me!"

Ben and Adam glowered at Joe for alarming them, but Hoss and Josie chuckled.

"Don't worry, Joe, I'll get you out of there," Josie said. "Just as soon as I've had some breakfast."

Everyone ate quickly and then returned to Little Joe's bedroom, Adam bearing Josie's small box of surgical tools.

"I don't have a plaster saw," Josie said as she dug through the box. "So I guess this will have to do." She straightened up, brandishing her large bone saw – the same type of instrument her father used for battlefield amputations.

Little Joe's eyes went wide, and with a little squeak, he fainted dead away.

"Shortshanks!" Hoss cried as he rushed to his little brother's side. Despite his alarm, Hoss remembered all of the training Josie had given him and immediately checked Joe's pulse and breathing. He sighed in relief. "He's all right. Guess the sight of that saw was a bit much for him."

"That's ok," Josie said. "He's easier to deal with when he's unconscious anyway." She studied the cast for a moment, deciding on just the right angle, and then set the blade of the saw against the edge of the cast nearest Joe's knee. Everyone held their breath as Josie began grinding away with the saw, but Josie was clearly having fun sawing on Joe's leg, so when her arm began to tire, Ben enthusiastically asked for a turn. A cloud of plaster dust enveloped the bed and its immediate area, and Josie giggled as she looked at her cousins and realized that their hair was now as white as Ben's. After a few moments, Adam nudged his father and gestured to the saw. Grinning, Ben handed it over, and Adam sawed away happily for several minutes before handing the tool to Hoss to finish off the job.

Hoss very carefully cut through the edge of the cast nearest Joes toes and then dug his meaty fingers into the split they had cut and began prying the cast apart. He hadn't made much progress, however, when his forehead crinkled and he looked over at Josie.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"It's stuck."

"Stuck?" Josie slid over next to Hoss and peered down at Joe's leg. She blushed and said "Oops."

"Oops?!" Ben exclaimed, going pale as he imagined his son's leg permanently mangled, or worse yet, rotted. "What do you mean 'Oops'?!"

Josie bit her lower lip and glanced over her shoulder at the family. "I forgot to wrap a bandage around his leg before we set the plaster."

"So?" Ben asked.

"So it's all glued into his leg hair."

Adam excused himself and bolted from the room. The other Cartwrights heard him step on the creaky floorboard outside his own bedroom, where Adam unsuccessfully attempted to muffle his hysterical laughter. Josie scowled but turned back to Joe.

"Nothing for it," she sighed. "Hoss, grab my chloroform. If he starts to come around, put him back out."

Adam reentered the room just as Josie began yanking at the plaster, and the three conscious Cartwright men cringed as all the hair was ripped out of the lower half of Joe's leg. As Josie had predicted, the pain stirred Joe, but Hoss grabbed the chloroform and sent him right back to sleep. Josie's arms started to wear out again from the effort, so Hoss took over pulling at the cast and soon had Little Joe's leg free. They all gazed at the inside of the cast, which was now quite hairy, and then down at Joe's emaciated left leg, which was not.

"That's gonna sting," Adam said, shaking his head.

Hoss removed the chloroform-soaked rag from Joe's face as Josie retrieved some soap and water from the washroom and bathed Joe's left leg for the first time in a month. She ran both hands up and down his shin several times, checking the bone, and then she smiled. "Feels good!" she announced, grinning up at Ben.

Joe fully regained consciousness just as Josie finished up. Hoss helped him sit up, and he looked anxiously down at his leg. Horror crossed his face as he saw how much muscle he had lost during his convalescence.

"It'll be ok, Joe," Josie assured him. "Once we get you back up and walking, you'll get that muscle back."

"Why does it sting so bad?" Joe asked.

"Oh, that's just your nerves reacting to the air hitting your skin for the first time in so long," Josie replied in a rush. Hoss snickered behind her, and Josie swung her leg backward and kicked him in the shin.

Joe nodded. "Can I try it out?" he asked nervously.

"Of course," Josie answered. "But it's going to be quite a while before it feels and works normally, so don't get frustrated."

Ben rolled his eyes. Asking Little Joe not to get frustrated was like asking a river to run backward. He watched as Joe sat up and swung his legs over the edge of his bed. Hoss grabbed his arm to help him, but Joe shook him off. Tentatively, Joe stood up and eased a little weight onto his left leg. He grimaced a bit as he took a few shaky steps across his bedroom, Hoss hovering behind him in case he fell. Halfway across the room, Joe turned and stepped carefully back to his bed, where he sat down heavily, sweat glistening on his forehead.

"How does it feel, son?" Ben asked.

"Felt better with the cast on." Little Joe's face screwed up in irritation.

"Like I said, it's going to take a while," Josie said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "But the best thing you can do is use it as much as you can. Just don't attempt the stairs for at least a few days. I don't feel like setting any more of your bones."

Remembering what Josie had told him about following her instructions to help his leg heal properly, Little Joe did as he was told and tried his best to walk normally. He limped badly for the first week and often had to resort to leaning on one of his crutches when it felt like his weakened leg would no longer support him, but as the weeks passed, his limp faded, and by the time Ben, Hoss, and Adam were ready to leave on the cattle drive to San Francisco toward the end of the month, Joe's gait was nearly back to normal. But walking still took more effort than usual, causing Joe to tire quickly, and a few days before their departure, Ben wondered aloud if he should leave Hop Sing at home in case Josie needed extra help.

"I suppose it's not too late to talk to Hallelujah Hicks about driving the chuck wagon," he mused.

"Oh, don't do that, Uncle Ben," Josie replied. "You know how much Hop Sing looks forward to the drive every year. It's the only time he gets to see his cousins in San Francisco. Besides, you hate Hallelujah's cooking."

Ben chuckled. "And his bellyaching," he agreed.

"If I need help, I'll send for Sally or Patience," Josie said.

"All right. But you be sure to send for them if you need to, ok? Don't try to handle everything yourself if it's too much."

"I promise I will," Josie replied.

Ben was worried about Josie. A few days after the Battle of Gettysburg, they had received a telegram from one of Jacob's assistants assuring them that he was all right, but the outcome of the battle had shaken the entire family – and the nation. Over the course of three days of fighting in Pennsylvania, more than 50,000 men had been killed, injured, or captured in what would be the bloodiest battle of the war. Because the Union won, the Confederate Army was not able to reclaim its dead, and the unpleasant task fell to the citizens – mostly women – of Gettysburg. It would take them a week to clear the battlefield of human remains and longer still to clear away the 3,000 dead horses. Josie had wept as she read the reports of the battle, streams of tears silently running down her cheeks and smudging the ink of her newspaper. She had then put herself to bed immediately after supper, a victim of the same sleepiness that had been plaguing her off and on since Simon's departure. Combined with her worry over Adam going on his first cattle drive since his capture by Peter Kane the previous summer and her still-mending heartbreak, Josie had been a mess for several days, and more than once Ben had awoken in the middle of the night to the sound of her sobs.

Ben now gazed intently into his niece's eyes and saw the sincerity there. He had noticed that Josie had perked back up over the past week, and he prayed that there would be no more upset. He credited his sons for cheering her up. The Cartwright brothers had taken special care to spend extra time with their cousin: Adam had taken her on a picnic so they could plan their upcoming trip to Sacramento, Hoss had taken her fishing at Lake Tahoe, and Little Joe had had Josie helping him with some mysterious project in the old bunkhouse that had served as Josie's first clinic.

It was this project with Joe that had really taken Josie's mind off her troubles. Because riding long distances was still difficult for him, Little Joe was excused from the usual pre-cattle-drive roundup duties, leaving him plenty of free time to fix up and finish the half-built canoe he and Hoss had begun a few years ago. Josie followed him out to the old bunkhouse to help whenever she could. She didn't know anything about shipbuilding, but she was happy to help coat the canoe in pitch to seal it, and when the craft was nearly finished, she swiped one of the branding irons from the barn so she and Joe could emblazon their canoe with the Ponderosa brand. They had a great time one afternoon burning the brand into their boat in six places – three on each side.

Meanwhile, Josie had been kept busy at clinic. After the Fourth of July, word had spread that Dr. Cartwright was no longer spoken for, and one morning about a week after the festival, Josie strolled out to her clinic to discover a line of at least a dozen young men, all claiming various injuries and ailments and requesting her attention. Josie took a quick inventory and discovered that only one of them, the banker's son, Thomas, had a genuine complaint. He had slammed his hand in the bank's safe and dislocated a finger. Josie took him in first, and the wail he sent up when Josie popped his finger back into place sent all but two of the other young men scarpering off. She humored the remaining two with quick exams and then sent them both away with clean bills of health. When Josie closed up the clinic that evening, she was tempted to add a note to the bottom of her "Doctor is out – Please call at the house" sign that read "Unless you're trying to court her, in which case, go away."

The evening before the three oldest Cartwrights departed on the cattle drive, Adam pulled Josie out onto the front porch.

"You sure you'll be all right while we're gone?" His hazel eyes brimmed with concern.

"Yeah. Joe's good company, and we're meeting with Fionn, Sally, and Patience soon to get started on the library. And Molly invited Joe and me over for supper tomorrow. I'll be fine, Adam, really."

Adam smiled; he hadn't known about Molly's invitation to Josie and Little Joe. After the final news of Gettysburg came in, he had expressed his concern to Molly about Josie, and he was touched that she had reached out to her, knowing that Josie might be lonely while Adam was away. Molly's birthday was coming up next month, and Adam now thought he might use some of his share of the cattle drive money to get her a nice gift.

Josie, however, didn't return her cousin's smile. She held his gaze for several long seconds, and Adam saw her eyes glisten. "What is it?" he asked.

"Are you sure _you'll_ be ok?"

Adam sighed and dropped his gaze. "I promise, I won't go off on my own," he answered sheepishly. "And I'll wire you as soon as we reach San Francisco, and then again before we set off for home."

Josie nodded and leaned into him. Adam wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, resting his chin on the top of her head. They stood there silently for a long time until at last Josie stepped back, and Adam led her back into the house.

The next morning, Josie and Little Joe stood in the front yard and waved goodbye to Ben, Adam, Hoss, Hop Sing, and a dozen of the ranch hands as they set out on the drive. A knot of apprehension settled in Josie's stomach as she watched Adam ride out of the yard, but Joe saw the concern cross her face and reached out and took her hand, and the sensation faded.

As soon as the oldest Cartwrights rode out of sight, Josie and Little Joe grinned at one another and bolted back into the house – Josie managing to keep a bit ahead of Joe as his leg was still a bit tetchy. They scampered into Ben's office alcove and pulled a big map out of a bottom drawer and spread it across Ben's desk. Unlike most maps in the house which showed the borders of the Ponderosa, this map focused on Lake Tahoe and its immediate area. Little Joe jabbed his finger at a point on the southern tip of the gargantuan lake.

"I know we were talking about going east-west across the lake," he began, "but I'm thinkin' it would be more of an adventure to start here at the southern point and paddle the full length, all the way north. We could camp a couple nights just on the Nevada side, then paddle back."

Josie frowned. "Isn't it twenty-two miles south to north up the lake? That's an awfully long way."

"Only twenty miles the way we'll be going," Joe replied. "It'll take the whole day, but we can do it. Unless you're scared."

Josie glowered at him. "I'm not scared! Just worried about you getting tired halfway across."

Little Joe grinned at his cousin. "I was thinking we could leave first thing on Wednesday. That gives us today and tomorrow to talk to Baxter about taking care of the place while we're gone and to find someone to drive the wagon."

"Drive the wagon?"

"Yeah. We gotta get the canoe down to the lake somehow, and we can't leave the horses standing around for three or four days until we get back. Only problem is almost everyone else is away on cattle drives, too."

Josie thought for a moment. "How about Fionn? He's harvesting his summer crops, so he's at home. I bet we could talk him into slipping away for a morning to help us down to the lake."

"So long as he swears not to tell Molly," Joe said. "She'll blab to Adam, and he'll get all bent out of shape that we left the ranch when we were supposed to be in charge."

"Fionn won't tell. He loves making trouble."

Little Joe snickered as he rolled up the map and carefully replaced it in Ben's desk drawer. "We'll ask him tonight, then, when we go over there for supper."

The cousins grinned at each other once more before Joe moseyed out to the barn to speak with Baxter, and Josie slipped into the kitchen to start gathering supplies for their trip. She collected enough jerky, coffee, cheese, biscuits, and apples for a week and put them all in a big burlap sack she found in the pantry. Then she skipped up to her bedroom to pack up some clothes – and a book, of course – for the upcoming adventure.

Late that afternoon, Josie and Little Joe washed up and headed over to the O'Connells' with Pip following along behind them. Little Joe had offered to hitch up a buggy, but Josie decided she'd rather ride – a decision Joe was only too happy to accommodate. He had missed riding Cochise while he was laid up, and he and Josie chatted cheerfully as their horses lumbered along the road toward Molly and Fionn's. When they were about a quarter mile from the O'Connells' little house, they detected the scent of roasting chicken and urged their horses to move a little faster.

As Josie, Little Joe, and Pip trotted into the front yard, Fionn rolled up in a wagon laden with freshly picked corn.

"Hey, You!" he called cheerily, waving at the cousins. "Hope you like corn!"

Josie grinned at him as she reined Scout to a stop alongside Fionn's wagon. "Love it!" she replied.

Fionn hopped down from the wagon seat as Josie and Joe slid off their horses. Joe grimaced a little as his healing leg touched down – this was the farthest he'd ridden since Josie had removed his cast – but after a few stiff steps, his gait smoothed out. He and Fionn shook hands, and, as had become his custom, Fionn kissed the back of Josie's hand. Pip having forgiven him for his previous indiscretion, Fionn scratched the giant dog behind the ears before leading the cousins into the house.

Molly greeted them in the living room with glasses of lemonade and then excused herself to the kitchen to finish preparing supper, including a dozen ears of the corn Fionn had just brought in. Josie asked her if she needed help but was glad when Molly declined her offer; she wanted to be part of the conversation with Fionn about driving their wagon down to the lake. Fionn slipped out to the back porch to wash up, but he returned shortly, his face scrubbed and his hair rinsed of the dirt and sweat it had accumulated during the day. His eyes danced as Josie and Little Joe pulled him in close and revealed their plans to him.

"Aye, I can do that," he said when Joe asked if he'd drive their wagon to the lake and pick them up again four days later.

"But don't tell Molly," Josie interjected. "Adam would have a conniption if he found out."

"We can't have that, now can we?" Fionn replied, smiling at Josie.

Molly called them in to supper just then, so the three friends gave each other knowing grins and scampered over to the kitchen. Molly and Fionn didn't have a formal dining room like the Cartwrights did, so the quartet crowded around the small kitchen table, which was all but groaning under the weight of the food Molly had piled onto it. There was roast chicken, potatoes, corn on the cob, green beans, biscuits, and freshly churned butter, made from the milk of the cow Molly kept in the barn. In a prayer shorter than any Ben Cartwright knew, Fionn blessed the food, and the quartet dug in.

After polishing off his second plateful, Fionn turned to Josie. "We've had a brilliant idea for the library, Hey, You."

Molly's mouth dropped open and she slapped her brother upside the back of the head. "You mean _I've_ had a brilliant idea for the library, you dolt!"

"Well, I helped-"

"You did not! You weren't even home when I thought of it!" Molly glared at Fionn until he clapped his mouth shut, and then she turned to Josie. "What I was thinkin', Josie, was that we could approach some of the business owners in town and ask if they'd be willin' to donate some of their profits, say, one percent to start, to the library. In return, we could give them a sign to hang in their window that says 'I support the library,' or something like that. I thought it might help the town to rally around the idea."

"That _is_ brilliant!" Josie cheered as her face lit up. "I'm sure Doctor Martin would do it, and I bet we could talk Widow Hawkins into it, too."

"Especially if we can talk Pa into asking her," Joe quipped, setting everyone to laughing.

"Of course, _I_ would," Molly said. "Do you suppose Mr. Grayson would as well?"

Joe and Josie said that yes, they thought he would, and the foursome spent the rest of the meal brainstorming a list of business owners in town to approach. Later that evening, after stuffing themselves full of Molly's excellent cooking, Josie and Little Joe bid the O'Connells goodnight and set off for home, excited about both the library and their upcoming trip.

Wednesday morning dawned clear and bright, and Josie sprang out of bed early, too excited to sleep any longer. She hustled into her jeans and her favorite blue-checkered shirt and dashed downstairs, boots in hand, to cook breakfast. Little Joe wasn't far behind her, and within thirty minutes, the two of them were sitting at the small kitchen table and wolfing down their pancakes. They were too busy eating to hold a conversation, but they looked up frequently to exchange maple-syrup grins.

They had just finished washing the dishes when they heard Fionn's wagon roll into the front yard. Josie and Little Joe rushed out to greet him and then ran back inside to collect their food, canteens, clothes, and bedrolls. When they reemerged in the yard, Fionn laughed at their excitement and helped Josie up onto the wagon's seat. Little Joe and Pip hopped in the back, and Joe gave Fionn directions to the old bunkhouse where they had been storing the canoe out of sight of the rest of the family. When they got there, Josie and Little Joe proudly showed off their vessel, and Fionn laughed at all of its Ponderosa brands.

"In case anyone needs to identify the wreckage, yeah?" he teased. The Cartwrights scowled at him, and Fionn's laughter immediately cut off. "Just a joke," he muttered. He and Joe hefted the craft onto their shoulders and carried it carefully out the door of the bunkhouse and loaded it into the back of the wagon.

It took the rest of the morning to reach the southern tip of Lake Tahoe, and the three friends chatted away about their plans for the library, the Fall Festival, and the trials and tribulations of having older siblings. When they finally reached the shores of the sparkling azure lake, Fionn and Joe pulled the canoe down from the wagon and dragged it toward the water. They stopped a few feet from the water's edge so Josie and Joe could load their supplies into it.

"All right, Josie, I think we're ready!" Little Joe declared.

The cousins turned to Fionn and thanked him for the lift.

"Not at all," he said. "But, uh, Hey, You?" Josie looked up at him as Fionn gestured toward the canoe. "You're not actually plannin' to put Pip in there, are you?"

Josie glanced over at the canoe and then back at Fionn. "Why not? There's plenty of room."

"He weighs more than you do," Fionn pointed out. "It'll be like havin' a third person in there who won't even help you row. And if he stands up unexpectedly… Splash!" He threw his arms in the air to mimic spraying water.

Neither Josie nor Little Joe had considered this. They were both so used to Pip accompanying Josie everywhere she went that it had never occurred to either of them to leave the animal behind. Pip looked up at Josie and wagged his tail hopefully.

"I'm sorry, boy," she said. "But Fionn has a point. If you were smaller, it would be a different story." Pip's ears drooped as he understood from Josie's tone that he was no longer invited.

Fionn looked on as Josie's face fell, and he could tell how terrible she felt about leaving Pip behind on an adventure for the first time in the dog's life.

"Tell you what," Fionn said. "How about I watch him for you? He can help me in the fields. Keep the birds away from the corn."

Josie's frown flipped into a grateful smile. "Thank you, Fionn. I think he'd like that." Before she realized what she was doing, she caught Fionn up in a warm hug. He stiffened in surprise, but then hugged her back enthusiastically.

"Have fun," he whispered in her ear. "I'll be back for you Sunday afternoon." When Fionn reluctantly stepped back from the embrace, he and Josie paused, their noses mere inches from each other as they caught and held one another's gaze. Finally, Little Joe cleared his throat, and Fionn and Josie gave their heads a little shake and Fionn reached out to shake Little Joe's hand.

Josie pointed toward Fionn as he sauntered back to the wagon. "Go on, Pip. Go with Fionn!" she ordered. With a final sad look at his mistress, the loyal dog obeyed and leapt into the bed of the wagon.

The cousins waved until Fionn and Pip were out of sight and then turned to their canoe. With one last big grin at each other, they dragged it to the edge of the water. They left the back half of the canoe on dry ground, and Little Joe held it steady so Josie could step into the front. Once she was settled on the plank seat, he shoved off and hopped in.

"It floats!" Josie squealed as their little craft lifted from the mud and bobbed on the water's surface.

"You don't have to sound so surprised," Joe replied, slightly hurt.

"Sorry, Joe, I'm just excited. Gimme my paddle."

Joe handed Josie one of the oars, and the cousins started paddling their way northward up Lake Tahoe.

It was slow going. The water was flat, so they weren't fighting a current, but they didn't have a current assisting them, either, and Little Joe estimated it would take them about seven hours to reach the north shore. Only two hours in when they broke for lunch, Josie was having her doubts. The cool blue water surrounding them provided ready relief from the blazing late-July sun, but Josie's arms were wearing out from all the paddling, and they weren't even halfway across yet. Because there was still no discernible current, Joe and Josie just let the canoe bob on the little waves as they ate the sandwiches they had packed. Josie carefully turned around on her seat so she was facing Joe.

"How you doin', Joe?"

"Great!" he replied with a big grin. "I could do this all day!" Joe had peeled off his shirt a while ago, and he now flexed his sinewy biceps to illustrate his point.

"Oh, that's good." Josie took another big bite of her sandwich and washed it down with a swig from her canteen.

"How about you?"

Josie sat up a little straighter and gave Joe what she hoped was a convincing grin. "I'm great! I could do this all day, too!" She was glad when they had finished their lunch and she could turn her back on Joe.

"I am in waaaaaayyyyy over my head," she thought. And in more ways than one, she realized as she gazed down into the remarkably clear water; Josie estimated she could see down more than a hundred feet. Adam had told her that the lake was nearly 1,700 feet deep at its deepest point, and for the first time, Josie wondered if this excursion had been such a good idea. At the very least, she probably should have told Joe one important fact about herself…

"Golly, I sure could go for a swim, couldn't you?" Joe piped up as they recommenced paddling.

"No," Josie answered, a bit too quickly. "Looks cold."

"That's the idea, genius."

Too tired to do anything more, Josie turned around and stuck her tongue out at Joe, who laughed. Josie wished she could join in his merriment. Her arms were like two iron pipes, and it took all her willpower to keep plunging her oar into lake and pushing the canoe through the water over and over again. Enormous blisters had formed on both of her hands, and her backside screamed for mercy from the hard, wooden plank she had been sitting on all day. Josie distracted herself by admiring the scenery. Tahoe was pretty year-round, but Josie found it most beautiful in the summer. They were a good three miles from the eastern shore now, but Josie could still see the countless pine trees lining the shore, and farther in the distance, the snow-capped Sierra Nevada range. Josie smiled as she remembered Hoss and Adam telling her about the Donner Party when she was just a little girl. This thought led to other happy memories of fishing with Hoss, snuggling up with Adam and a good book, and making mischief with Joe, and the miles of lake began sailing past.

Josie was so caught up in her reverie that she didn't notice the scrim of dark clouds that developed on the western shore as suppertime neared. Little Joe, who had also fallen silent with his own daydreams, didn't notice them either until he heard the first rumble of thunder ripple across the water toward them.

"Uh, Joe?" Josie tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice. "Is that a problem?"

"Of course not!" Joe cheered bracingly. Then his face fell and he pulled his shirt back on. "But paddle faster."

Adrenaline displaced the leadenness in Josie's arms, and she discovered a store of energy she hadn't known she possessed. Little Joe estimated they were about two miles from their destination on the north shore when the thunderstorm reached them. At first, they were simply inconvenienced by a cold, driving rain, but after ten minutes or so, the whipping wind had stirred up waves, and the water got choppy. Lightning flashed all around them, and Josie involuntarily ducked her head.

"Keep paddling, Josie!" Little Joe hollered over the squall. "We can make it!"

Josie nodded, too terrified to speak, as their canoe crested a little wave and crashed down hard on the other side, nearly flinging the cousins from the small vessel. Josie felt water seeping up the left leg of her jeans, and she glanced down.

"Joe! We have a problem!" What at first had seemed like rain coming into the canoe from above turned out to be lake water seeping in through the canoe's portside hull, right through the Ponderosa brand emblazoned near the front. Josie's eyes widened as she realized that she and Joe must have let the branding iron burn too deeply into the wood. When the boat crashed down from the top of that last wave, the weakened lumber had splintered and was now letting in water. It was just a trickle, but Josie knew if they hit another hard wave then that entire section of the hull could collapse.

"What's wrong?" Joe yelled back.

Josie's vocabulary abandoned her as she watched the trickle of water coming through the hull grow to a slow stream. "Water!" was all she could manage.

Little Joe thought Josie had lost her mind. They were on a monstrous lake in the middle of a deluge, and Josie was surprised by the presence of water?

"No kidding!" Joe shouted as he wiped rain from his eyes. He shook his head in exasperation, but then he noticed Josie frantically gesturing toward the bottom of the canoe as she twisted her head around to stare aghast at him. A bolt of lightning lit up the sky just then and glinted off the growing puddle around Josie's feet. The cousin's eyes met, and they stared at each other briefly, both sets of eyes wide with horror. Little Joe broke their gaze just in time to see another wave swell up in front of him. He swore loudly. "Hang on, Josie!" he screeched just as the wave hit the front of the canoe. Josie heard a sharp "CRACK!" from the front of the canoe a split second before she and Joe were hurled, screaming, into the air.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Josie flew forever. She tumbled head over heels as she soared, and her view shifted back and forth between lake and sky so quickly it made her dizzy. By the time she plunged into the chilly, wind-whipped water of Lake Tahoe, she no longer knew which way was up or where in the world Little Joe had landed. Not that it would have mattered. Having never learned to swim, Josie immediately plummeted into the depths of the lake, her water-filled boots speeding her descent. Josie watched in horror as the light above her faded, and she kicked and kicked until her legs were as leaden as her arms and her lungs screamed for air. She fought the almost overpowering desperation to take a breath, knowing that doing so would only draw water into her lungs and kill her faster. All her struggling was for naught, however, as her sodden boots and clothes dragged her farther down. Strangely, her fear faded. "Well, I guess this is it," she thought to herself as she blew out the last of the air in her lungs and watched her final breath bubble upwards.

Just then, she felt a sharp tug on her hair. Something had hold of the end of her braid, and it felt like they were trying to rip off her entire scalp. Her first thought was that she had run into some hostile Indians, but even in these last few seconds before she blacked out, Josie had the sense to realize that it was unlikely there was a band of Indians lurking twenty feet below the surface of Lake Tahoe. Whatever it was that had hold of her, however, was dragging her painfully toward the surface. Josie battled to maintain consciousness, and at last, when she thought she could struggle no more, she burst through the water's surface and raked in great gasping lungfuls of the sweet, sweet air. The pain in her scalp faded to a tingle, and as the world came back into focus, Josie realized she had her arms wrapped tightly around someone.

"Oh my god, Josie, are you ok?!"

Joe.

Josie stared at her cousin as the pair of them bobbed up and down in the still-crashing waves, and she thought she had never seen anyone so beautiful. Still drawing in grating, greedy breaths, she dropped her forehead onto his shoulder and hugged him. Quickly, though, Josie realized that she was pinioning Joe's arms, and he could no longer tread water. She loosened her grip as they started to sink, and Little Joe towed her toward an overturned chunk of what was left of their canoe. It was only about three feet long, but it was sturdy enough to keep the two of them afloat when they grabbed hold. The storm continued to beat down on them, but they held there for a time as they caught their breath.

Little Joe glanced over at Josie, whose chest was still heaving. "Did you hit your head?" Though they were only inches apart, Joe had to shout to be heard over the cracking thunder.

Josie shook her head. "Can't swim! Never learned."

Little Joe's eyes widened in shock. "How is it you never learned to swim?!"

Josie's braid had come loose when Joe used it to drag her to the surface, and she glared at him through a curtain of soaked black hair. "Can we discuss this later when we're NOT in mortal peril?!"

"Right." Joe glanced around, squinting through the rain as he tried to ascertain their position. "All right," he hollered, turning back to Josie. "We can't be more than a mile from the north shore. Hang on tight and start kicking!"

"Oh, only a mile, that's all."

Joe glared at Josie. "You got a better idea, I'd love to hear it."

Josie raked her hair out of her eyes with one hand and began to kick.

It took Josie and Little Joe two hours to battle their way through the waves to reach the shore. The storm tapered off after about thirty minutes, but the cousins, already exhausted from paddling all day, had to stop frequently to rest. Josie wished she could pull off her leaden, water-filled boots, but she knew she would need them when they finally reached the shore. The water was still churning from the storm, so every time they took a break, they lost some of their progress as the waves bore them back toward the center of the lake. Fortunately, as they drew closer to the shore, the waves began pushing them toward land instead of back out into the lake, and as the sky cleared and an angry, blood-red sunset blazed on the western horizon, Josie and Little Joe dragged themselves out of the water and collapsed side-by-side on the pebbly beach.

Neither of them had any clue how long they lay there panting as the waves rippled around their feet, but it was nearly dark when Little Joe at last sat up. Josie sat up, too, and locked her gaze on Joe's.

"Joseph. Cartwright."

Little Joe shrank back as Josie's jaw set into a hard line. "Now, Josie, let's be reasonable here. Remember, I saved your life."

Josie's hazel eyes blazed. "You wouldn't have had to save my life if your canoe had been seaworthy in the first place! What was I thinking, getting into that thing with you?! You know what the last thing Adam said to me before he left was? 'Whatever you do, don't let Joe talk you into anything.' And what did I do? I let you talk me into the most foolish idea you've ever come up with!"

"ME building a seaworthy canoe?!" Joe shouted back. "Need I remind you, my dear sister, that YOU were the one with the brilliant idea to brand the thing?! If you hadn't done that, we never would have ended up in the water! Besides, why in the world didn't you tell me you couldn't swim?! I never would have brought you out here if I'd known that."

Josie's jaw worked up and down a few times as she realized she didn't have a good answer for Joe. In truth, she just hadn't wanted to admit she couldn't do something that her cousins took for granted. "It never came up in conversation," she muttered. She dropped her head between her knees and stared at her saturated boots as she realized Joe was right. She had hidden an important piece of information from him, and it had nearly cost her life. A single tear slipped from the corner of her left eye. "Thanks for pulling me up," she whispered.

Little Joe's heart went out to Josie as he looked at her sitting there in a puddle on the rocky beach with her arms wrapped around her knees and her hair dripping. Hoss had told him how upset Josie was when Adam had called her a greenhorn the night of the mine cave-in, and he realized now just how helpless she had probably felt at times here in the West, where life often required skills she had never needed in Washington, D.C. Joe scooted over to Josie and put his arm around her shoulders. "You're welcome," he replied as he kissed her temple. "I'm just sorry I had to yank on your hair. It was the first bit of you I could reach." Josie leaned into him and let him hug her, but he kept the embrace short. "Come on." He stood and offered Josie his hand. "We need to find a decent place to camp and make a fire before it gets completely dark on us."

As Joe pulled Josie to her feet, she cast about, and then her face fell. "Oh no!" she wailed. "All of our stuff is at the bottom of the lake!"

Apart from the lump of canoe they had used for flotation as they made their way to shore and their pistols, which were still strapped securely to their hips, everything else they had brought with them was gone. Their bedrolls, their spare clothes, the two rifles Little Joe had borrowed from the rack in the living room, their canteens, and all of their food.

Josie's hands flew to her head. "I've lost my hat!"

Joe ran a hand through his wet hair, sending a fine spray flying in all directions. "Yeah, me, too. It's ok, Josie, we'll get new hats."

"Hoss bought me that hat."

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Oh, and my copy of _Northanger Abbey_ was in my bedroll!"

Joe rolled his eyes. Josie could be so much like Adam, and not in an endearing way, either. They had bigger problems right then, and she was worried about a book. "It's just a book, Josie."

Josie's eyes flashed. Little Joe could be so obtuse sometimes. "'The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel must be intolerably stupid,'" she quoted haughtily, her nose rising ever so slightly into the air.

"I do take pleasure in a good novel," Joe retorted. Then he gave Josie a devilish grin. "It's just too bad Jane Austen isn't any good."

"You and your dime novels!" Josie sighed. But she smiled back. She and Adam had recently made fun of Little Joe for enjoying the cheap, hastily written novels with their garish yellow covers and sensational titles, such as _Malaeska; The Indian Wife of the White Hunter_ and _Seth Jones, or Captives of the Wild Frontier_. Josie had wondered aloud why Joe wanted to read exaggerated stories about the region where he already lived, and Adam had pointed out that the West depicted in the dime novels hardly reflected the actual experience of life on the frontier. But Ben, tired from a long day and spotting the wounded expression on his youngest son's face, had shut them both up by saying how nice it was that at least one of his children was doing more reading than talking that evening, and they might all take a lesson from him.

Josie and Little Joe plodded heavily off the beach and headed toward the trees. The last of the twilight was fading fast, so they chose a relatively protected spot under some trees in case another storm blew in and then set about trying to find firewood. The gale had brought down a number of branches, but these were still green and soaked, to boot. Little Joe found a piece of flint and made a gallant effort to light a fire anyway so they could dry out their clothes, but everything was just too wet. Josie and Little Joe disassembled their guns to help them dry out, and then they had no recourse but to curl up on the damp, bare ground in their soaked clothes and try to sleep.

Night fell hard and cold on the drenched Cartwrights, and they scooted ever closer to one another, searching for warmth. The first rays of dawn revealed the cousins shivering in each other's arms. Despite their exhausting day, neither of them had managed to sleep more than an hour or two, and they sat up wearily, their eyes bloodshot and their clothes stiff from the lake water that had dried on the fabric during the night. Josie looked at Little Joe's haggard expression and giggled.

"We are not a majestic sight," she observed.

Joe agreed and stood up. He smiled as he surveyed their surroundings and he realized he knew exactly where they were.

"That's a relief," Josie said when he announced the good news. "How far do you reckon we are from home?"

Joe's face fell. "Fifteen or twenty miles."

Josie groaned. She was so sore from paddling and kicking her way through Lake Tahoe the previous day that she could barely move, let alone walk fifteen or twenty miles.

"Ponderosa's a big ranch," Joe said. "We should be glad it isn't farther."

"Are we even on Ponderosa land?"

Joe looked around again and told her he guessed they were about five miles west of the Ponderosa's nearest border.

"That isn't so bad," Josie admitted.

"Yeah. We're lucky, really. We could have been blown into California."

"True, but even at only twenty miles out, we can't exactly cut straight across the range to home, can we?" Josie said. "We lost our canteens, and we both know what this heat can do to someone with no water." Neither of them said it, but they both knew Josie was thinking of Adam last summer in the desert. "Plus, we've got no way back across this lake, and the only person who knows we're out here won't even know to start looking for us for another three days."

Joe groaned as the truth of Josie's statement sank in. Fionn was the only person who knew their full plans, and he wasn't expecting them until Sunday. "All right," he said at last. "First things first. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Josie gestured around. "We lost all our food, remember?"

Joe grinned. "Fortunately, my dear Dr. Cartwright, we happen to be on the shores of the Nevada's biggest fishing hole. You stay here and see if you can get a fire going. I'll be right back." He ambled back toward the lake, peeling off his shirt as he went.

"Good luck with that," Josie muttered as she watched him go. She turned to the firewood they had gathered the previous night. Rather than stacking it, they had spread it all out in the hopes it would dry overnight, but Josie discovered it was still too damp to catch. She struggled for the better part of an hour before hurling her flint into the woods in frustration. When Joe returned shortly thereafter – limping, Josie noticed – he, too, wore a disgruntled expression. "Catch anything?" She wasn't sure why she asked; the answer was plainly obvious.

"No," Joe grumbled. "I nearly had some fish caught up in my shirt, and then I got bit by a dang turtle." He held up one bloody finger, and Josie had to fight the urge to laugh.

"I'd love to help you, Joe, but unfortunately, my bottle of iodine and my bandages are at the bottom of Lake Tahoe." Josie was glad she hadn't brought along her entire medical bag. Not only would she have lost expensive implements and surgical tools, but the bag itself had been a gift from her mother. She examined Joe's finger anyway, deemed the bite a very shallow wound, and suggested he keep better watch for wildlife in the future.

"So, now what?" Josie asked as they sat down under a tall pinyon pine. Little Joe handed her a pinecone.

"Dig in," he said.

"Excuse me?"

Little Joe peeled apart the pinecone to reveal several pale, bean-shaped nuts. He shelled them in a single, smooth motion and popped them into his mouth. "Woods are full of food if you know where to look," he said as he crunched down.

Josie's eyes lit up, and she scoured the ground for more pinecones. She found nearly a dozen, and she and Joe spent the next quarter hour peeling them apart and popping the nuts into their mouths. It was a poor substitute for a real breakfast, but after missing supper the previous night, it was better than nothing.

When they had exhausted the nut supply, Joe glanced up at the sun. "Well, I suppose we better get moving. Try to get a few miles in before it gets too hot. I think our best bet is to head for the south shore where we're supposed to meet Fionn on Sunday. It'll be a good eight or ten miles longer than the walk home, but at least we'll have fresh water the whole way. I can try fishing again later, and if we're real quiet, we might scare up some game."

Josie nodded and hauled herself to her feet, and then she and Little Joe began their long trudge to the southern shore.

After no more than half a mile, it was clear that Little Joe would never be able to walk all the way back to the southern shore. His still healing left leg was worn out from yesterday's frantic kicking through the lake, and Josie forced him to stop and sit down. Little Joe leaned against a smooth boulder, and Josie plopped down next to him and massaged his aching shin. Joe rested his head against the cool stone and groaned contentedly.

"You keep that up for a couple minutes, and I could walk all the way to China."

Josie grinned, but looked up at him with concern. She squinted in the glare from the summer sun and missed her hat desperately. "Joe, we both know you can't make it. We need another plan."

Joe sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. "You're right." He paused. "Unfortunately, the only thing I can think of is for you to go on ahead to meet Fionn and then come back for me."

Josie shook her head. "We're not splitting up. That's just asking for trouble in this family, especially when we've only got six shots apiece to begin with." She let go of Joe's leg and leaned against the boulder next to him. "We'll just have to think of something else."

"Well to begin with, we should get out of the sun." Joe stood up stiffly and limped toward the tree line. "Let's see if we can find some dry wood," he called over his shoulder. "If we can get a fire going, I'll try fishing again. We'll feel better with some real food in our stomachs."

Josie watched Joe hobble farther into the trees and jogged over to him. She placed one hand on his shoulder. "You sit down. I'll look for firewood." Joe made a moue of protest but did as Josie suggested; his leg really did ache. Unfortunately, thirty minutes of searching yielded no dry wood. Josie wasn't hungry enough yet to eat raw fish, so she untucked her shirt and, using the tail as a basket, gathered as many pine cones as she could and took them back to Joe. She gave him an apologetic look as she sat back down. "Sorry, Joe, but everything's still soaked. I don't think the sun can reach through the trees to dry it out."

"That's all right, Josie," Joe said bracingly as he peeled into a pinecone. "It can't stay wet forever."

Again, the pine nuts did little to quell the angry rumblings in their bellies, but at least they kept the worst of the hunger pangs at bay. With nothing else to do, Josie gave Little Joe's shin another good massage.

"The good news is, you definitely have more muscle than you did a couple weeks ago," she reported.

Joe grinned and said that his leg was feeling much better and he thought he could walk at least another mile or so. Josie didn't like this idea, but she knew they didn't have much choice. Their best bet was to get as far south as they could and hope that when they didn't show up on Sunday Fionn would move northward looking for them, and they would meet up somewhere in between. She sighed and helped Joe to his feet, and once more they set off southward, keeping to the shade of the tall pine trees.

This time they made nearly three-quarters of a mile before Joe's breath grew ragged, and Josie knew he was in pain again. She draped his right arm over her shoulders so he could lean on her as they shuffled toward the lake for a drink. As they knelt on the shoreline, drinking their fill and dousing their heads with the cool water, Josie looked up at the sun and guessed it must be about midafternoon. Midafternoon, and they had come less than a mile and a half. Frustrated, she dunked her head in the lake again, and as she resurfaced and tossed her wet hair over her shoulder, she felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle. From behind her came the unmistakable creak of a bowstring being pulled taut. Joe heard it, too, and instinctively reached for his gun. Josie grabbed his hand and shook her head, and, holding her arms out wide to show she was clear of her weapon, she slowly turned around. Joe turned, too, and the pair of them came face-to-face with a dozen mounted Paiute warriors, each with an arrow nocked on his bow.

Josie broke into a huge grin.

"Chief Winnemucca!" she cried, recognizing the Paiute chief astride a beautiful brown-and-white paint. "Am I ever glad to see you!"

Startled, the chief gestured to his men to lower their weapons.

"My apologies, Dr. Cartwright," he said. "I didn't recognize you." He jumped down from his horse and strode over to Josie, his right hand extended. Josie shook it warmly as the chief peered at her, noting her heat-flushed cheeks and bedraggled, muddy clothes. "You look terrible."

Josie laughed. "We were shipwrecked," she said, waving a hand toward Little Joe. Then, seeing the puzzled look on Winnemucca's face, she added, "It's a long story. But where are my manners? This is my brother, Joe." She grabbed Little Joe's arm and yanked him over so he, too, could shake the chief's hand. He gasped as his left leg came down at an angle and a bolt of pain shot through his shin.

"You are injured," Winnemucca observed.

Not wanting to show weakness in front of the Indians, Little Joe straightened up and puffed out his chest. "I'm fine."

Winnemucca turned his dark eyes on Josie, who explained that Joe had broken his leg two months earlier and was still recovering. "That's why we're a bit stuck," she concluded. "Joe can't walk very far at a stretch just yet."

"It is lucky we ran into you, then," Winnemucca replied. "If you will grant us safe passage across Ponderosa lands, then we will take you home."

Little Joe looked like he would rather do just about anything than trust a band of Indians to get him safely home, but Josie had already enthusiastically accepted the chief's offer. Winnemucca noticed Joe's hesitation and smiled at him. "Fear not, young Cartwright," he intoned, dropping his voice an octave. "Red man no takee scalpum today." He reached out a hand and tousled Joe's wet curls. "Though you do have a nice one." Winnemucca and Josie broke out in laughter at Joe's alarmed expression, which quickly dissolved into an irritated one at being made fun of.

Still laughing, Winnemucca offered his arm to Josie and grandly escorted her to the shade of the trees, Little Joe reluctantly following along and casting anxious glances over his shoulder at the eleven Paiute warriors behind him. Once in the shade, they all sat down in the cool dirt, and the Indians began digging into the bags they had tied to their horses. Little Joe's wariness of the band of warriors dissolved instantly when he saw them extracting long, thick strips of pemmican and small round biscuits from the sacks. Josie saw it, too, and her mouth began to water. Winnemucca noticed the Cartwrights' wide eyes and asked when they had last eaten.

"About this time yesterday," Josie answered. "Not counting the pine nuts, anyway."

Winnemucca shook his head and handed Josie and Little Joe two strips of pemmican and three biscuits apiece. Joe forgot his previous reluctance to accept help from the Paiutes and crammed a biscuit in his mouth. The chief smiled but did not laugh at the young man again.

Josie had never tasted pemmican before, and her eyes lit up as she tore into her first strip. It was similar to the beef jerky she helped Hop Sing make, but this had nuts and dried berries mixed in.

"This is delicious!" she exclaimed.

Several of Winnemucca's warriors chuckled. They didn't all understand English, but the delight in the young doctor's face was unmistakable.

"It is not as good as fresh roasted meat, but it will sustain a man on the trail," one young brave said. He caught Josie's eye and smiled shyly at her. Josie smiled back briefly before blushing and dropping her gaze.

"So, my young friend," Winnemucca began, stretching his long, deerskin-clad legs out in front of him. "How did you come to be shipwrecked on the shores of our great lake?"

Josie heaved a sigh and launched into the tale of her and Little Joe's homemade canoe and how they had planned to row all the way up the lake. When she reached the part where they had burned the Ponderosa brand into the sides of the craft, Winnemucca's English-speaking warriors had to bite their lips to keep from laughing. Josie paid them no mind and continued with the story of the storm whipping up and splitting their canoe, and then how she and Little Joe were thrown into the water.

At that point, Little Joe could keep silent no longer; he was desperate to regain some credibility with the Paiutes and related the part where he courageously dived deep into the lake to rescue Josie from certain death.

Winnemucca raised his eyebrows at this. "You cannot swim?"

Josie dropped her head, ashamed. "No," she mumbled.

"And you did not tell your brother this before you paddled out to the middle of the deepest lake in the region?"

"No." Josie's voice was no more than a whisper as it finally sank in just how very foolish she had been to try to cross the lake with Joe.

Winnemucca reached out and cupped Josie's chin to tilt her head upward to meet his gaze. "Do not be so quick to send yourself to the next world, Dr. Cartwright," he said, much more gently than Josie had expected. "You have much yet left to complete in this one." Josie smiled, and Winnemucca released her chin and leaned back once more. "So that explains your haggard appearance," he continued. "But where is your most noble companion? I would have expected a brave warrior like Pip to accompany you on such a journey."

"We left him with a friend," Josie said as she blushed bright red and buried her face in her hands. "We were afraid he'd tip the canoe."

Winnemucca threw back his head and laughed, the joyful sound reverberating through the trees, and many of his men joined in. Josie and Little Joe sat and waited for the Paiutes to compose themselves – both slightly annoyed by the Indians' Schadenfreude and awestruck at the boundless joy these supposedly savage men could experience. When Winnemucca at last drew a full breath, he turned to them as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I am sorry, young Cartwrights," he said, still snickering. "But that is very, very funny."

"Glad we could give you a giggle," Joe said drily, but the lingering twinkle in the chief's dark eyes broke his foul mood at last, and Joe grinned for the first time since they had run into the Indians.

"Come," Winnemucca said, rising to his feet. He held his hand out to Josie and hauled her up, then did the same for Little Joe. "We have just enough time to get you home and return to our own lands before dark."

Winnemucca said something in Paiute to the warrior who had smiled at Josie, and the young man beamed as if he had been chosen for a high honor. He snatched the reins of his horse – another beautiful pinto – from the tree branch he had wrapped them around before lunch and led the animal over to Josie.

"You are to ride my horse," he announced proudly as he handed Josie the reins.

"Thank you!" Josie said as she took the reins. She hated to take the young man's horse, but she disliked the thought of walking the fifteen or twenty miles home even more. Josie had never ridden bareback, and after one glance at the bemused expression on her face, the young Paiute took hold of her left foot and boosted her onto the horse. Josie thanked him again as she settled on the blanket that lay across the horse's back.

"Pony Blanket," the young man said.

Josie looked down at the brightly colored diamond pattern of the blanket she was sitting on and nodded. "Yes, it's quite beautiful."

The young man chuckled. "No, Pony Blanket is my name."

Josie blushed deeply and apologized for her mistake.

"Do not worry," Pony Blanket said. "It does not translate quite so well to your language."

Josie smiled gratefully at Pony Blanket as he doubled up with another warrior. Josie scooted back toward her own horse's rump to give Little Joe room to mount up in front of her. She wrapped her arms around Joe's waist as he took the reins, gave the horse a little kick, and followed Winnemucca and his warriors toward the Cartwrights' home.

It took less than three hours to reach the ranch house at an easy lope, and Little Joe and Josie thought the homestead had never looked so beautiful. Josie invited the Paiutes inside for supper, but Winnemucca politely declined, and Josie understood it would have been improper for the warriors to enter the Cartwrights' home – their entrance into the big house when Josie was sick had been an exception made in a dire situation. Josie and Little Joe bid their friends farewell and then tumbled wearily into the house. They collapsed side-by-side on the settee, not caring that they were grinding their grime into the upholstery. Josie turned her head to look at Little Joe.

"We are NEVER doing that again," she said.

"Agreed. And the others will NEVER hear about this, either."

"Agreed. I'll ride out to the O'Connells' ranch tomorrow to let Fionn know he doesn't have to pick us up and to get my dog back."

"Uh-huh."

The cousins rose sluggishly from the sofa and dragged each other upstairs to clean up, both of them having had their fill of adventure for quite some time.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

In the following days, as Josie and Little Joe recovered from their shipwreck, Ben, Adam, Hoss, Hop Sing, a dozen hands, and several thousand Ponderosa cattle rolled into San Francisco. It had been a long, hot, laborious drive, and all the men were glad to finally arrive in the city.

"I'll tell you what, Pa," Hoss said as he slid, exhausted, from Chubb's saddle and wiped his brow. "We gotta pick a more hospitable time of year to do these drives."

"That's a good idea, son," Ben said as he dismounted a lathered-up Buck. "When we get home, you ride out and talk to our reserved cattle about it. I'm sure they'll be happy to adjust their breeding schedule to accommodate you."

The bone-weary Cartwrights wasted no time making their way to the cattle buyer and relieving themselves of their bovine burden. Ben was pleased with the price they got for their livestock and gave Hoss and Adam their shares of the take. Hoss seemed unusually eager to dart off into town to spend his money, but Adam persuaded him to come to the hotel for a bath and a meal instead.

"I've got some shopping to do, too, but we've got three days in town," Adam reasoned. "Let's just wire Josie and let her know we got here all right, and then spend the evening relaxing. We'll have a better time shopping tomorrow when we're rested."

Hoss pulled a face but agreed. "First thing tomorrow, though. You promise, Adam?"

"Sure, sure."

Reluctantly, Hoss followed his father and older brother toward the telegraph office.

That night, after a hearty supper and relaxing baths, the brothers lay stretched out in their beds in their shared hotel room. They could easily afford separate rooms, but life on a ranch as large as the Ponderosa didn't leave any of the Cartwrights with a lot of one-on-one time with each other, and the brothers liked to take advantage of whatever opportunities came their way.

"I'm thinkin' about skippin' breakfast in the mornin'," Hoss confessed quietly.

Adam jumped so hard that he nearly fell out of bed. "What?! Are you feeling ok?"

Hoss chuckled. "Yeah, I'm feelin' fine. _Better_ than fine, actually. Just want to get an early start on my shopping, that's all."

Adam stared up at the dark ceiling in confusion. "What in the world could possibly have you so excited about shopping, Hoss? There a new bonnet you're just _dying_ to have?"

"Oh, shut your head, Adam."

"Come on, you can tell me."

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Of course I won't laugh! I'm not Joe."

Hoss chuckled again and then drew in a deep breath. "I'm buyin' an engagement ring for Patience," he spit out all in a rush.

This time, Adam really did fall out of bed. He hit the floor with a loud "THUD!"

"Adam!" Hoss cried, springing out of bed to pick up his brother. He grabbed his brother's arm and hauled him back onto his bed. "Are you ok?"

"Am I ok?!" Adam grabbed Hoss's right hand with his and pumped it vigorously. "Hoss, this is wonderful! Have you told Pa?"

Hoss was grateful the dark room hid how brightly he was blushing. "Naw," he drawled. "I ain't told anybody yet, 'cept you. Well, and Reverend Lovejoy. Wasn't gonna buy a ring without gettin' his blessing first."

"Have you and Patience been talking about getting married?"

"She's dropped a few hints, but I ain't said anything official to her yet. I was waitin' until I had the ring."

"Are you sure she'll say yes?"

Even in the dark room, Adam could see the horror cross his brother's face, and he immediately wished he hadn't teased him with this cute line.

"Oh, Hoss. Hoss, I'm sorry. I was just joking. I'm sure she'll say yes." Adam sputtered a few times more before Hoss shushed him.

"S'alright, Adam. I know you didn't mean nothin' by it. Let's just go to bed."

Adam nodded in agreement and turned to tuck himself back in, but Hoss grabbed his arm and gripped it so tightly Adam thought he would leave a bruise. "Don't say anythin' to Pa in the morning, you hear? I don't want anybody knowin' about this until Patience says yes."

"I won't breathe a word," Adam swore. Hoss released him, and the brothers returned silently to their beds.

Hoss was soon snoring away, but Adam lay awake for quite some time, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Adam woke shortly before dawn to the sound of Hoss stumbling around their room as he got dressed.

"Shops aren't even open yet, Hoss," he groaned as he rolled over onto one side and pressed his pillow over his head in a vain attempt to block out Hoss's one-man symphony.

"Changed my mind about skippin' breakfast," the big man replied as he plunked noisily onto his bed to pull on his boots. He held up his left boot and examined it thoughtfully for a few seconds before leaning forward and yanking Adam's covers off of him. He cracked Adam across his nightshirt-clad behind with his boot. Adam yelped and leapt out of bed, one hand massaging his sore rear end.

"What was that for?!"

"Tryin' to be clever last night. And since you're up now, you may as well come down to breakfast with me."

Adam scowled – he'd intended to treat himself to a bit of a lie-in – but it was clear that Hoss wouldn't allow it, so he shuffled to the other side of the room and yanked on his jeans. After buttoning his shirt and pulling on his own boots – resisting the urge to throw one at his younger brother's giant head – Adam toddled blearily after Hoss as the big man led the way to the hotel's dining room.

When Ben came down to the dining room thirty minutes later, he was surprised to find his sons already finishing their breakfast.

"Good morning, boys! Didn't expect to see you up this early."

Adam leaned back in his chair and crossed one ankle across the opposite knee. "Well, you know how it is, Pa. That cattle drive money is just burnin' holes in our pockets."

Ben raised an eyebrow. Adam was judicious with his money; it was unlike him to spend it as soon as it came in. He suspected the real eager beaver was Hoss. Ben looked over at his large, blond son and bit back a smile. He had an inkling what Hoss might be so itchy to spend his money on, and he fiercely hoped he was right.

Hoss and Adam rose, and Adam offered Ben his chair. "Sorry to rush out on you, Pa, but San Francisco awaits."

Ben sat down in Adam's vacated seat. "You two just be sure to stay out of trouble," he warned. "This family's already had its share of _that_ this year!" The three Cartwright men had no idea that Josie and Little Joe had recently added to that tally, but Hoss and Adam agreed with their father all the same.

"We'll be fine, Pa," Adam assured him. "Just shopping. We'll keep well clear of the Barbary Coast."

"See that you do."

Hoss and Adam turned to leave, but Ben grabbed Adam's arm and held him back while Hoss scurried out the door, unaware that Adam was no longer behind him. "Adam," Ben muttered. "Help him pick out a pretty one."

Adam merely raised an eyebrow. "A pretty what, Pa?" A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and Adam had to wrench free of his father's grip and scuttle after Hoss before he blurted out his younger brother's secret. Not that it was much of a secret. Ben, apparently, had cottoned on some time ago, and Adam felt a little guilty that he'd been so preoccupied with courting Molly and comforting Josie – "his ladies," as he was beginning to think of them – that he hadn't noticed what was happening with Hoss and Patience practically right under his nose. But he reminded himself that he was here now, and he could help his younger brother select the perfect ring. "This will be fun," he thought to himself as he burst through the hotel door and out into the warm morning sunshine onto the bustling streets of San Francisco.

It was not fun.

The brothers visited three jewelry shops in the first hour and a half, and Hoss was displeased with the selection at all of them. "They just ain't right, Adam!" he'd exclaim while looking at the displays of rings. Hoss shot down every suggestion Adam made, and when Adam asked him to describe his ideal ring, Hoss threw his hands up in frustration and shouted "I don't know, but these ain't it!" Adam spent a lot of time that morning apologizing to the jewelers of San Francisco.

Finally, in the early afternoon, they tumbled into their sixth and final shop of the day. Adam knew it was their final shop because it was the only jeweler in San Francisco they had not yet visited. His stomach protesting at having missed lunch, Adam glowered as he watched Hoss peer intently at the engagement rings. It was a tiny, dingy shop, and Adam didn't expect they would have any luck there, either. In an attempt to distract himself from his mounting irritation, Adam wandered to the side of the shop opposite Hoss, glanced down into a case boasting a half a dozen necklaces, and gasped.

"This is it, Adam!" Hoss shouted excitedly from the other side of the shop. "It's perfect!"

"It sure is," Adam muttered, still gazing down at the necklaces. There in the very front of the case was a beautiful white-gold and diamond necklace. It was a series of white-gold daisies linked together, each with a small diamond in its center. At its center were two white-gold leaves connected to two larger diamond-encrusted daisies. From these hung a small pendant, also encrusted with diamonds, in the shape of a star. It was the most stunning piece of jewelry Adam had ever seen.

But before Adam could beckon for the salesman, a short, weedy man who looked like he didn't get outdoors very often, Hoss grabbed his arm and yanked him over to the rings. He jabbed one meaty finger at a delicate rose-gold band with a single diamond at its center.

"Ain't it pretty, Adam?" Hoss asked, his eyes shining. "It's just perfect! Patience loves pink."

Adam grinned at his brother and examined the ring. It _was_ quite pretty, but not ostentatious – just right for a modest young lady from Virginia City. Adam looked back up at Hoss. "I think you better buy it before someone else does."

Hoss looked nervously over his shoulder as if another customer might be coming up right behind to snatch away his perfect ring. Seeing no one, he turned back to the salesman and asked him to box up the ring.

While they waited for the jeweler to package the ring, Adam led Hoss over to the necklaces and showed him the one that had caught his eye.

"Now that's downright beautiful," Hoss agreed. "Would look real pretty on Molly." He gave Adam a sly grin.

Adam barked out a surprised laugh. "Oh dear, I hadn't even thought of Molly. I was thinking of Josie. I owe her for helping me out this spring." Adam had thought he'd get Josie a few bars of perfumed soap as a thank-you for helping him connect with Molly during Rachel's visit, but this necklace had swept all thoughts of toiletries from his mind.

"You should get it for her," Hoss encouraged him. "Imagine how beautiful all those diamonds will look against that black hair of hers." He paused. "Besides, I think she deserves to get a nice piece of jewelry from a man who will _always_ love her."

"I hadn't thought of that, either," Adam replied. It suddenly occurred to him that he was once again in the same city as Simon Croft, and the young man would probably be easy to find if Adam took a notion to seek him out and give him a good thrashing. He wished he hadn't promised Ben they would stay out of trouble. Adam returned his attention to the necklace case. "It would make a pretty spectacular birthday gift," he mused. Then his face lit up. "And I could give it to her when we go to Sacramento for her birthday! We could go out for a fancy dinner, just so she could wear it."

"Now you're usin' your head, Older Brother," Hoss said, slapping Adam on the back.

The jeweler returned just then and handed Hoss a small box wrapped in discrete brown paper. Hoss traded him for a wad of bills.

"See something you like, sir?" the jeweler asked Adam with a friendly, hopeful smile. He didn't typically pay much mind to the cowboys who occasionally breezed through his shop, but these two men were different. After the big one hadn't even blinked at the price of the engagement ring he'd just purchased, the jeweler realized that these cattle wranglers could actually afford his wares.

" _Two_ things, actually," Adam replied. His eyes had just landed on another necklace toward the back of the case. This one had a plain silver chain that allowed the magnificent pendant to attract all the attention. It was a large emerald surrounded by small diamonds, and it perfectly matched Molly's eyes. Adam gestured to both necklaces. "How much?"

The jeweler must have been a terrible poker player because the smile that erupted on his face told everyone within a two-mile radius that he was staring down the barrel of the biggest sale he would make all year. He swallowed and composed himself. "Those are two-hundred and fifty dollars apiece."

Adam gave no immediate outward reaction to the jeweler's announcement. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and pulled an expression of uncertainty as he gazed back down at the necklaces. He waited several long seconds before looking back up at the jeweler. "I'll give you four hundred for the pair."

The jeweler's watery eyes bugged out. "Four hundred?! I couldn't possibly let them go for so little!" Adam gazed evenly at him without blinking, and the man shrank back a bit. "Four ninety," he offered.

"Four fifteen," Adam countered.

"Four eighty."

"Four twenty-five, or my brother and I walk out of here."

"Four seventy, and that's as low as I can go."

Adam grabbed Hoss's elbow. "Come on, Hoss. We got what we needed." The brothers started for the door.

"Four sixty!" the pale man cried desperately.

Adam grabbed the door latch.

"Four fifty!"

Adam stopped and turned back toward the sweaty little man. "Now you're talkin'," he said with a grin. "Box those up for me."

Having learned the hard way not to flash money or valuables around in public, Adam and Hoss kept their purchases tucked in their pockets until they returned to their room after a quick lunch in the hotel's restaurant. But once in their room, they ripped into the little paper-wrapped boxes to admire their treasures. Adam held Patience's ring up to the light to inspect it more closely.

"If Patience says no to this, she's gone mad," he proclaimed as he handed the little circlet of gold back to Hoss, who tucked it carefully back into its box.

Hoss gave Adam a sly smile. "Kinda surprised you didn't look at any yourself." The look Adam shot him let Hoss know he had stepped over the line. "Sorry, Adam," he mumbled. "Didn't mean to pressure you."

Adam rewarded Hoss with a small smile. "Don't worry, Younger Brother. If I decide to start looking at rings, you'll be the first to know."

Hoss grinned. "Lemme see those necklaces again." Adam handed him the two boxes, and Hoss admired Molly's necklace first, commenting on how the emerald would complement the young lady's eyes. Josie's necklace, however, commanded most of his attention. He draped it across one wide hand and examined it from every angle, smiling at the way the diamonds caught the sunlight coming in their bedroom window and sent little rainbows dancing across the ceiling. As he handed it back to Adam, however, thoughtfulness crossed his face. "Hey Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"Ain't you and Josie ridin' to Sacramento?"

"Yeah."

"Then how's she supposed to take a big ol' gown with her so you can go out for a fancy dinner? She can't roll one of them big hoopskirts up in a bedroll."

Adam slapped his forehead and groaned. "I hadn't thought of that," he said for what seemed the hundredth time that day. "I'll have to work that out."

Adam puzzled over it the rest of the day, but he still couldn't figure out how to get one of Josie's gowns to Sacramento while keeping the dinner the surprise he wanted it to be. At supper that evening, Ben noticed the pensive look on his oldest son's face and wondered if perhaps two engagement rings had been purchased that day. During dessert, when Adam was so lost in thought that he missed his plate of apple pie and plunged his fork into the back of Hoss's hand instead, Ben thought he had better speak up. First checking that Hoss was all right – fortunately, Adam had barely broken the skin – Ben turned to Adam.

"Son, what in the world is eating you?!"

Adam apologized to Hoss and explained to his father about the necklace he had bought for Josie and his current dilemma with the gown and the planned dinner.

"I spend a small fortune to educate my oldest son, and he can't even solve a simple problem," Ben grumbled. Adam looked up indignantly and opened his mouth to reply, but Ben held up a hand and continued. "The young lady you're courting _is_ a seamstress, no? So one could presume she knows a good deal about ladies' fashion."

Adam furrowed his brow. "I don't follow you, Pa."

Ben sighed. "So you bring Molly over to the house sometime when Josie's not home, have her box up one of Josie's gowns and whatever else she might need…" He blushed slightly and continued. "And then you ship the whole kit and caboodle ahead to whatever hotel you plan to stay at in Sacramento. Problem solved."

Adam's mouth dropped open in awe. "That's brilliant, Pa! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you were making it more complicated than it needed to be," Ben replied, chasing one last bit of pie around his plate with his fork.

"Don't you think Josie will notice one of her gowns missin', though?" Hoss asked.

"No," Ben and Adam replied in unison. They caught each other's gaze and laughed.

"The only time Josie notices one of those gowns is if it's blocking the path to her jeans," Adam said, still chuckling.

Hoss joined in the laughter, and the three men finished their pie in good spirits.

Three days later, Josie received a telegram from Ben saying they were leaving San Francisco and expected to be home by the end of the week. Josie brightened at the news; she had been feeling lonely and downcast again since she and Joe had returned from the lake, and having Adam home would make her feel better. Little Joe helped distract her over the next few days first by driving her into town so the two of them could buy new hats (they were careful to get ones identical to those they had lost) and then by taking her down to the duck pond and teaching her how to swim. Joe was an excellent instructor, and by the day the other Cartwrights were due back, Josie was paddling expertly all around the pond.

"We'll have to take a trip to Washoe Lake so you can try out some deeper water," Joe said.

"So long as there's no canoe involved, I'm all for it!" Josie replied with a grin.

By the time Ben, Adam, Hoss, Hop Sing, and the hands rolled into the front yard that Saturday, Josie had perked up considerably and raced out to greet them. She flung herself into Adam's arms, not caring that he was soaked with sweat and covered with trail dust. He swung her around and planted a big kiss on her forehead before passing her off to Hoss to do the same while Adam led Sport into the barn.

"How was your trip?" she asked as Hoss's hug lifted her more than a foot off the ground.

"Great!" Hoss replied as he swung Josie around until she was dizzy. "Best trip I ever took!" He beamed at her, and Josie thought he must be up to something, but she couldn't ask just then because Hoss and Ben had to tend to their horses.

Hoss grinned even more than usual all through supper that night, but when Josie commented on his extra exuberance, especially given the long, exhausting journey he had just had, Hoss merely smiled and said how nice it was to be home.

Throughout the meal, Josie and Little Joe had cleverly kept the other three talking about their trip, but as Josie served up the blueberry pie she had made for their homecoming, Ben finally broached the topic that the two youngest Cartwrights had been dreading.

"It was hot as blazes out on that trail! Did the two of you manage to keep cool back here?"

"Oh, yeah, Pa," Joe said casually as he stabbed his pie with his fork. "We went swimming."

Josie's eyes bugged out as she nearly dropped a slice of pie onto Pip's head instead of onto her plate. "That's right!" she recovered. "Spent a good deal of time in the water, actually." She caught Joe's eye, and the pair of them turned purple with repressed laughter. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice.

"Good," Ben said. "It's clear you did a good job with the ranch, too, Joseph. Baxter tells me everything ran very smoothly while I was away."

Joe beamed at the compliment. He often felt his father and older brothers didn't give him the credit he deserved – he was a lot more responsible and competent than they often made him out to be – and his father's comment was vindicating.

After supper, Josie lay flopped on her stomach across Adam's bed as he unpacked his carpetbag. He had ended up buying her a small sachet of perfumed soaps after all so he would have something to give her upon arriving home, and she squealed with delight when he handed them to her. She was tempted to run off and have a bath right then but realized that the first shot at the bathtub that night belonged to Ben, and then Adam and Hoss in turn. She would have to wait until tomorrow. She rolled over onto her back, held the sachet up to her nose, and inhaled deeply.

"So," Adam began as he slipped the necklace boxes out of his bag and into his sock drawer before Josie could spot them. "You gonna tell me what you and Joe _really_ got up to while we were gone?"

Josie sat up, all wide-eyed innocence. "Whatever do you mean? We went swimming, like Joe said."

"Sure you did." Adam pulled a copy of _The Last Days of Pompeii_ out of his bag and replaced it carefully on his bookshelf.

Josie narrowed her eyes at Adam's sarcasm. "I'll tell you what Joe and I did if you tell me what Hoss is up to." Adam still had his back to her, and Josie smiled triumphantly as she watched his shoulders sag.

"That's not my secret to tell," he said as he turned around to face her.

"Then it looks like we're both going to bed disappointed." Josie leapt from the bed and alit lightly on the floor. Rising to tiptoe, she kissed Adam's cheek. "Goodnight, Cousin-Cousin. Glad you're home." Giggling, she skipped from his room, her new soaps clutched tightly in her hands.

The next week passed quietly as the three oldest Cartwrights rested up after the cattle drive. Josie had discovered through Adam that Molly's birthday was coming up on August 17, and she and Hoss rode into town one afternoon so Josie could purchase a Derringer for Molly and Hoss could invite the Lovejoys to dinner that Friday. Despite Adam's refusal to give Josie any insight into Hoss's recent enthusiasm, Josie had a good inkling that she felt was confirmed when Hoss mentioned the dinner invitation.

At breakfast Friday morning, Adam mentioned that he had a meeting in town Tuesday morning with John Billings, the banker.

"I thought since Molly's birthday is on Monday, I'd go into town that afternoon, take her to dinner, and then just stay the night at the hotel. No sense riding all the way home just to turn around eight hours later and ride back."

"That sounds fine, son," Ben agreed.

Josie's eyes glistened with excitement. Adam had shown her the emerald necklace he had bought in San Francisco – though he had kept Josie's necklace safely hidden in his sock drawer – and she could hardly wait to hear about Molly's reaction to it.

"Oh, Uncle Ben!" Josie exclaimed. "Joe, Fionn, Sally, Patience, and I have decided to have the Fall Festival on October 31. We're going to use the meadow just outside of town where the Fourth of July festival is always held."

"Sounds like a great idea, Josephine!" Ben's dark eyes sparkled at his niece. "Convenient that Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, isn't it?"

"Sure is!" Josie agreed. "We're going to have apple bobbing and baked goods for sale, and lots of games!"

The Cartwright men grinned. They were all excited about the idea for the library, and planning the Fall Festival had given Josie a new spring in her step. Adam saw her renewed perkiness the most in her eyes and hair. When Josie was happy and healthy, both her eyes and her hair fairly glowed. After Simon's departure, her hair had gone lank and her eyes dull, like they had when she was sick with typhus, but now the shine had returned to both. Adam wondered how much of that had to do with the library and how much had to do with the amount of time Josie had been spending with Fionn as the quintet of friends worked on their plans.

Hoss, however, had been very quiet throughout the whole meal, and Josie now noticed that his plate was still nearly full – he had hardly touched his pancakes and bacon.

"Hoss, are you feeling all right?" Josie asked, wrinkling her brow.

Hoss blushed, and then sputtered, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine, Josie. Just ain't all that hungry this morning."

"That's why I asked."

"He's all right, Josie," Ben interceded. "Just had such a big supper last night it's a miracle any of us are hungry this morning!"

Hoss beamed gratefully at Ben and then excused himself. Josie caught Adam's eye, but he just shrugged his shoulders at her and dropped his gaze back to his plate. Josie stuck her tongue out at him; Adam knew something, and it vexed her to no end that he wasn't sharing it.

"I should go, too," she said, pushing back from the table. "I promised Doctor Martin I'd reorganize the medicine cabinet, so I better get an early start if I plan to have time to take Molly out to lunch."

Adam's eyebrows shot up. "You're taking Molly out to lunch?"

"Yes, for an early birthday treat. She's my friend, too, you know."

Adam smiled. He was glad his ladies were growing so close; he couldn't imagine the difficulty it would cause for him if the two of them didn't get along. He stood up as Josie rose from her seat and gave her a hug. "Have a good day. We'll see you at supper."

Josie hugged him back and then gave him a peck on the cheek. "You, too." She kissed Ben and Joe goodbye as well and then skipped out the door to saddle up Scout for her ride into town.

Josie did have a good morning. She didn't have any patients, so she got the medicine cabinet reorganized well before lunch, when she met up with Molly at Annie's Café. Molly shrieked with delight and threw her arms around Josie when Josie presented her with the new Derringer. Molly immediately strapped it to her right ankle. When she dropped the hem of her skirt, no one could tell she was wearing it.

"Perfect!" Josie cheered. "And don't be afraid to use it on Adam if he gets out of line."

Molly giggled and hugged Josie again.

Having treated only one patient that day – and that one needing only a couple stitches – Josie closed up the clinic a half hour early to give herself a little more time to clean up for what she felt sure was going to be a momentous supper. She pawed through her wardrobe when she got home, looking for just the right dress. She sighed a bit wistfully as she came across the sapphire silk gown she'd worn to the captain's dinner as she and Adam steamed away from Philadelphia two years ago. Much as she hated corsets and hairdos, Josie really did love that gown. But it was certainly too fancy for tonight, so she selected her nicest day dress – a ruby-red cotton number that contrasted brilliantly with her black hair. And the best part, in Josie's opinion, was that the dress required neither a corset nor a hoop skirt.

She had just finished battling her hair into submission when Ben called for everyone to come downstairs. The Lovejoys were due to arrive any minute, and they all needed to be on hand to greet their guests. When they were all congregated in the living room, Josie glanced surreptitiously at Hoss, who was pale and sweaty. She nudged Adam, who frowned when he looked over at his younger brother. He reached over and straightened Hoss's string tie. Hoss swayed a little and Josie was certain he was going to fall backward onto the floor, but the big man steadied himself just in the nick of time. Adam gave him a sharp little pat on each cheek, and Hoss regained a bit of his color.

By the time the Lovejoys' wagon rolled into the front yard, Hoss had pulled himself together and greeted the Reverend and his family at the door. The rest of the Cartwrights greeted each of the Lovejoys as they entered the house, Josie and Patience exchanging a warm hug, and Little Joe flashing his most debonair smile at Patience's eighteen-year-old sister, Hope. The greetings completed, the two families crowded around the dining room table to enjoy the feast Hop Sing had prepared. Everyone but Hoss had a hearty appetite, and soon there was nothing left of the enormous roast beef than a few gelatinous specks of fat quivering on the serving platter.

Afterward, when everyone else retired to the living room for coffee and brandy, Hoss asked Patience if she'd like to take a little stroll down to the duck pond. Josie shot Adam a glance and was finally rewarded with a wide grin that told her all she needed to know. She had to bite her lower lip to keep from beaming the entire time Hoss and Patience were gone.

Adam's stomach fluttered on his brother's behalf. He remembered the nerve-wracking feeling of proposing to a young lady – it was almost vomit-inducing, really – and he could only hope that Hoss would stay cool under the pressure. Hoss was unflappable in a true emergency, such as when Ben had gotten lost in the blizzard earlier that year, but he got the worst performance anxiety in less life-threatening situations. Adam remembered vividly the Carson City Christmas pageant when Hoss was ten years old and had burst into tears when it was time for him to sing his solo of "Silent Night." He had rushed off the stage and into the audience, where he had buried his face in Marie's lap. Fortunately, Adam had been holding four-year-old Joe in his own lap just then or the little boy certainly would have been squashed. Shaking his head, Adam now sat down on the settee next to Josie and draped an arm around her shoulders while he sipped his brandy and waited for Hoss to return.

They didn't have to wait long. After only thirty minutes of pleasant conversation, the Cartwrights and the Lovejoys all snapped their heads up as the front door banged open so exuberantly that the mirror over the sideboard rattled and Ben held his breath, expecting it to fall off the wall and smash on the floor. Hoss's jubilant voice thundered through the room.

"PA! Pa, I'm gettin' married!"

Hoss escorted a blushing, smiling Patience into the living room as the two families leapt to their feet to congratulate the couple. Josie nearly knocked Adam's brandy into his lap as she launched from the settee with an ear-piercing squeal and flung her arms around Patience. After a quick hug, Josie grabbed Patience's left hand and held it up to the light to inspect the ring Hoss had selected. Adam and Little Joe barreled past Ben to congratulate their brother. Hoss had expected Little Joe would tackle him, but he hadn't counted on Adam succumbing to the excitement, too, and when both his brothers pounced on him at the same time, Hoss toppled, taking Adam and Joe down with him. The three men hit the living room floor so hard the house shook, and Josie glanced over in alarm, worried that she would have to set a broken bone. The brothers lay in a laughing heap on the floor for several moments as Adam and Joe congratulated Hoss and all three of them tried to untangle their arms and legs. Caught up in the exuberance, Pip jumped on top of the pile, barking madly.

Tears of joy and relief rose to Ben's eyes as he shook hands with Reverend Lovejoy. An unexpected wave of sadness swept over him, too. It would be difficult to see one of his sons move out of his home, but even more than that, Ben suddenly missed Hoss's mother Inger very much and wished she were there to share in their son's joy.

When the Cartwright brothers had sorted themselves out and regained their feet, Ben hugged his future daughter-in-law and then poured another round of brandy for everyone.

"So when's the wedding, Hoss?" Little Joe asked after they had all toasted the happy couple.

"Aw, geez, Joe, they wouldn't have worked THAT out already," Josie said.

"Actually," Patience said, "we have! We want to get married December 26 when the church is still decorated for Christmas." She took hold of Hoss's hand and beamed up at him.

"Yeah," Hoss said. "And that gives me four months to build us a house."

"Down in Hoss Heaven?" Ben asked, referencing a little corner of the Ponderosa Hoss had always loved.

"I was hopin' to talk to you about that," Hoss replied.

"Nothing to talk about. It's all yours."

Hoss's bright blue eyes filled with tears as he gathered his father up in one of his enormous bear hugs. "Just don't split it off, Pa," he said as he released Ben so the man could breathe again. "We've all worked too hard to make the Ponderosa what it is to go breakin' up the old gal now. Let's keep things the way they are. Only thing that changes is me livin' in a different house."

Ben had to turn away to wipe his eyes, and Adam stepped in to deflect the attention.

"Can I design your house?" he asked eagerly. Adam had recently gotten his plans for a new, sturdier schoolhouse approved by the Virginia City schoolboard, and he was keen to draw up another blueprint.

Hoss grinned at him. "Wouldn't want no one else doin' it, Older Brother."

"And of course we'll help you build it," Little Joe interjected.

"I'll help, too," Reverend Lovejoy broke in. "I used to do some carpentry before I became a minister."

As the men got carried away daydreaming about the house Hoss and Patience would have – Adam was already fantasizing about three stories, seven bedrooms, two washrooms, and an enormous kitchen – Patience turned to Josie.

"Hope will be my maid of honor, of course," she said, gesturing to her younger sister. "But I was hoping you and Sally would be my bridesmaids."

Josie squealed with delight and threw her arms around Patience again. "Of course I will! I'm sure Sally will say yes, too. And I know just the seamstress to make our dresses."

Patience smiled. "I plan to make my own wedding gown – with Ma's help, of course – but Molly will do a beautiful job on dresses for you and Sally. I was thinking something in a dark red. It'll look real pretty against the Christmas tree we always put up in the church."

The two families spent the next hour discussing plans for both the house and the wedding, and it was reluctantly that Reverend Lovejoy finally stood and announced that they needed to head home. After several rounds of hugs between various family members, during which everyone got licked a lot by Pip, the Lovejoys finally tumbled out of the front door and loaded up in their wagon for their drive home. The Cartwrights waved until the wagon had completely disappeared into the night.

Led by Pip, the five Cartwrights filed back into the house. Adam, Josie, and Little Joe flopped onto the settee, and Ben collapsed in his leather armchair. Still glowing, Hoss stood behind the settee and bid his family goodnight.

"Goodnight?!" Josie exclaimed. "How can you possibly sleep now?! I'm so excited I won't sleep for at least a week!"

Hoss chuckled. "You go right on ahead and stay up then, Little Sister. But I'm plumb tuckered out. That proposal took a lot outta me." He leaned over and kissed the top of Josie's head before lumbering up the stairs toward his bedroom.

The family laughed as Hoss exited, and Little Joe leaned his head back on the top of the settee and grinned.

"What a good day this has been!" he sighed.

"It certainly has been," Ben said.

"I can't wait to order my dress from Molly!" Josie said, and then she giggled. Adam asked what was so funny, and Josie looked up at him, her hazel eyes shining with delight. "I just thought how devastated Widow Hawkins will be. One less eligible Cartwright man to choose from!"

Overjoyed by the day's events, even Ben joined in the laughter.


End file.
